Chinese automaker Geely plans to build a $168 million assembly plant with an annual capacity of 75,000 cars in Vietnam with partner Tasco Joint Stock Company, as the two companies signed a joint venture agreement deal in Hanoi on Monday. Geely will pay 36% of the total investment of the facility, where Volvo’s parent company plans to make cars under the Lynk & Co and Geely Auto brands initially, while Tasco, a local construction and engineering firm, will shoulder the rest of the cost. Construction is expected to start in the first half of 2025, followed by vehicle delivery to local customers as early as 2026. The Chinese carmaker has established a relatively early and strong presence in Southeast Asia since it acquired a 49.9% stake in Malaysian automaker Proton from conglomerate DRB-HICOM Bhd in 2017. The two companies are building an auto-making hub in west Malaysia to have an annual capacity of 500,000 vehicles by 2035, according to Geely. [Bloomberg, TechNode reporting]