Vietnam's sales of domestically assembled cars rose 23 percent year onyear in January, thanks to strong car sales before the Lunar New Yearholiday.
Amid an economic slowdown, consumers in one of theemerging auto markets in the region bought 11,066 vehicles last month,including 8,326 cars and 2,740 trucks, the Vietnam AutomobileManufacturers Association (VAMA) has said.
The northernregion continued to be the biggest buyer with 3,729 units, followed bythe south with 3,494 units and the central region with 1,472 units.
The sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles(MPV) registered the highest growth rate of 74 percent, followed bypassenger cars which saw a growth rate of 9 percent.
Thelatest data, which excludes adjustments for seasonal factors, came fromVAMA which comprises the country's 18 leading car makers.
"This is the tenth consecutive month when the industry volume has beenhigher than the same period last year," VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Ariassaid in a statement on February 14.
Jesus said with this momentum, he forecasts 120,000 units for 2014, a growth of 9 percent over 2013.
Besides the booming demand before Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday,attractive discounts offered by automakers have also helped, industryinsiders said.
In order to keep the market vibrant followingthe prolonged economic slowdown, most car makers announced retail pricecuts between 6 million VND (295 USD) and 58 million VND (3,330 USD).
Meanwhile, the strong momentum of last year's sales also helpedaccelerate the January bonanza. The sales of domestically assembled carsin Vietnam rose 19 percent in 2013, with 110,519 vehicles being sold.
The recovery in demand last year was aided by a brighter economicoutlook, attractive financing deals, price discounts and lower carregistration fees.
The results surpassed the industry group'sforecast of 10 percent growth for the entire year and marked a strongrebound in one of the smallest auto markets in the region after years ofstagnation.
Also in January, Vietnam imported 3,000 completely built unit cars (CBU) worth 58 million USD.
This was a decrease of 33 percent in volume and 55 percent in valuecompared with the previous month, the General Statistics Office hasestimated.
However, the import volume in January is 9.9 percent higher than the corresponding period last year, the office said.
The country imported 34,500 CBU cars worth 709 million USD lastyear, an increase of 25.9 percent in volume and 15.2 percent in valuecompared with 2012.
The rising number of imported vehicles isseen as evidence of restored consumer confidence following theimprovements in the economy.
However, the number of vehiclesimported last year is still lower than the 2011 figures, when 54,600autos valued at over 1 billion USD were imported.
Vietnam'sauto market in the past 13 months proved to be one of the few thatregistered growth against the backdrop of the global downturn. Thecountry's auto market endured a prolonged bleak patch in the past twoyears which were beset by economic difficulties and tighter financingdeals.-VNA
Amid an economic slowdown, consumers in one of theemerging auto markets in the region bought 11,066 vehicles last month,including 8,326 cars and 2,740 trucks, the Vietnam AutomobileManufacturers Association (VAMA) has said.
The northernregion continued to be the biggest buyer with 3,729 units, followed bythe south with 3,494 units and the central region with 1,472 units.
The sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles(MPV) registered the highest growth rate of 74 percent, followed bypassenger cars which saw a growth rate of 9 percent.
Thelatest data, which excludes adjustments for seasonal factors, came fromVAMA which comprises the country's 18 leading car makers.
"This is the tenth consecutive month when the industry volume has beenhigher than the same period last year," VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Ariassaid in a statement on February 14.
Jesus said with this momentum, he forecasts 120,000 units for 2014, a growth of 9 percent over 2013.
Besides the booming demand before Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday,attractive discounts offered by automakers have also helped, industryinsiders said.
In order to keep the market vibrant followingthe prolonged economic slowdown, most car makers announced retail pricecuts between 6 million VND (295 USD) and 58 million VND (3,330 USD).
Meanwhile, the strong momentum of last year's sales also helpedaccelerate the January bonanza. The sales of domestically assembled carsin Vietnam rose 19 percent in 2013, with 110,519 vehicles being sold.
The recovery in demand last year was aided by a brighter economicoutlook, attractive financing deals, price discounts and lower carregistration fees.
The results surpassed the industry group'sforecast of 10 percent growth for the entire year and marked a strongrebound in one of the smallest auto markets in the region after years ofstagnation.
Also in January, Vietnam imported 3,000 completely built unit cars (CBU) worth 58 million USD.
This was a decrease of 33 percent in volume and 55 percent in valuecompared with the previous month, the General Statistics Office hasestimated.
However, the import volume in January is 9.9 percent higher than the corresponding period last year, the office said.
The country imported 34,500 CBU cars worth 709 million USD lastyear, an increase of 25.9 percent in volume and 15.2 percent in valuecompared with 2012.
The rising number of imported vehicles isseen as evidence of restored consumer confidence following theimprovements in the economy.
However, the number of vehiclesimported last year is still lower than the 2011 figures, when 54,600autos valued at over 1 billion USD were imported.
Vietnam'sauto market in the past 13 months proved to be one of the few thatregistered growth against the backdrop of the global downturn. Thecountry's auto market endured a prolonged bleak patch in the past twoyears which were beset by economic difficulties and tighter financingdeals.-VNA
