At the Bangkok Motor Show2015 held recently, Thai automobile makers introduced about 10 modelsthat will be exported to Vietnam this year. Four of the models that arelikely to attract Vietnamese consumers are Honda HR-V, Mazda 2, FordRanger and Ford Everest.
In Thailand, Honda HR-V costs 27,312USD to 29,921 USD. It is expected to be introduced in Vietnam by the endof this year. At first, it will be exported as a completely built unit(CBU).
Meanwhile, Mazda 2 will enter the domestic market with two versions of High and High Plus.
Withlarge units that can be used for long trips, Ford's new Ranger andEverest models are expected to attract Vietnamese customers.
FordRanger is one of the pick-ups that leads the market in terms of revenuein Vietnam. Three Ranger models will be introduced in the country bythe end of this year.
Meanwhile, the new SUV 7 model, with a sun roof, has three versions that cost between 38,939 USD and 40,063 USD.
Accordingto Ford Asia Pacific's Marketing, Sales and Service (MSS) VicePresident Brett Wheatley, the growth in Vietnam's automobile market in2014 ranked second in Ford's global market.
As the growth has just begun, the firm believes in this potential market.
Atpresent, the country's development policies for automobilemanufacturing are not enough to allow auto makers to boost investment inthis area.
Meanwhile, the import tax of CBUs from the ASEANmember countries has been reducing to touch zero percent by 2018 underthe ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). Therefore, by this time, thebest way to occupy the market is by importing cars.
As the automobile market in Thailand has been declining, auto makers are trying to develop exports to the ASEAN countries.
Severalauto firms in Thailand have business sections that specialise insupervising auto exports to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The sections are responsible for studying the market and policies to give advice to the firms' leaders for boosting exports.
Wheatleysaid two products would be majorly exported to Vietnam in the future.They were small sedans for urban areas and large cars for long and heavyterrain roads.
The new models will have new features and modernconveniences, meeting the customers' increasing demand. The prices willbe more competitive.
Along with the reduction of import taxesthat will make cars cheaper, the firms have announced that they willoptimise production costs to offer the best prices to the customers.
Areport by the General Statistics Office said Vietnam spent 133 millionUSD on importing 5,493 CBU cars in February, an increase of 86 percentin volume and 160 percent in value compared with the same period lastyear.-VNA