An auto manufacturing line of Thaco Group in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in south central Quang Nam province. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Auto sales stagnated in July following a surge in the sale ofboth locally-assembled and imported cars in June.
Figuresfrom the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reveal that salestotalled 24,065 units in July, an increase of a mere 0.3 percent month-on-monthafter rising 26 percent in June.
Julysales included 16,088 locally-assembled units, up 2 percent year-on-year, whilesales of imported vehicles stood at 7,977, down 2 percent.
June sawthe sale of locally-assembled cars rise 43 percent month-on-month to 15,874units and imported vehicles by 21 percent to 8,155. The sharp increases were attributedto the fact that most local car dealers were offering major discounts to kick-startdemand.
The Government’smove to cut car registration fees by half also stimulated buying.
Directorof auto dealer Thien Phuc An, Nguyen Tuan, said most customers had refrainedfrom buying a new car until registration fees were cut from the beginning ofJuly.
Theyrushed to sign good deals in June then waited before registering the new car,he said.
For thatreason, few sales took place in July.
Insiders haveforecast that sales will slow down further during lunar July, which is frommid-August to mid-September. This is traditionally called the “Month of the Ghost”in Vietnam, and people widely believe they should not make major decisions, suchas purchasing cars or real estate, to avoid bad luck.
Sales ofimported vehicles totalled 4,078 in the first half of August, almost equal tothe July figure and only down slightly year-on-year.
As ofAugust 15, Vietnam had imported close to 49,050 vehicles this year, worth morethan 1.1 billion USD. This was only half of the 89,860, worth over 2 billionUSD, imported in the same period last year.
Thailandand Indonesia remained the two largest exporters of automobiles to Vietnam,accounting for 76 percent of the total in July.
Thailandtopped the list, sending more than 2,300 cars to Vietnam, up 33.3 percentmonth-on-month. Indonesia sent 1,300, an increase of 664 (or 100.04 percent)against June.
Other majorexporters included China, with 719 vehicles, the Republic of Korea with 121, andJapan with 80./.
VNA
