Posted on 09 Jul 2009
June sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell a slight 1 percent year-on-year to nearly 9,700 units but rose by nearly 1,000 units from May and nearly2,000 units from April, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (V AMA) said yesterday.
According to VAMA, the market went up last month thanks to the government's proactive measures such 50 percent VAT and 50 percent ownership tax cuts.
The government in late April halved automobile registration fees to 5-6 percent of the sticker price to boost sales and help automakers cope with the local economic slump which had resulted from the global recession. The lower fees are in effect until the end of this year.
For vehicles with less than 10 seats, the registration fee is 6 percent of the sticker price in
VAMA blamed the poor sales on a 37 percent fall in orders for sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) due to the impact of new special consumption tax which has been in place since April 1. A higher special consumption tax was imposed on 6 to 9-seat autos and some high-capacity models early April.
Vehicles with cylinders exceeding two litres are subject to a 50-60 percent tax, and those with cylinders less than two litres are levied a 45 percent tax. Both new tax rates are up from the previ�0us common rate of 30 percent.
VAMA reported that in June, sales of multi-purpose vehicles crashed 37 percent to more than 1,510 units, while the number of commercial vehicles sold increased 13 percent to more than 5,530 and the number of passenger cars sold was more than 2,650 units, an 8 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Given the lacklustre market, automakers have introduced several new models to attract customers.
Besides launching new passenger car models, automobile manufacturers have marketed new versions of their models which have been selling well in
Domestic automobile manufacturers like Samco, Truong Hai, Vinaxuki and Vinacomin-Vinacoal reported an increase in sales in June as well, according to VAMA.
Vinacomin- Vinacoal and Vinaxuki saw 147 percent and 142 percent year-on-year sales increases to 42 and 1,340 units respectively last month. Similarly, Samco and Truong Hai saw 39 percent and 23 percent year-on-year sales increases to 39 units and nearly 2,067 units respectively last month.
But some foreign manufacturers reported sales declines of up to 78 percent last month. Last month
The leading automaker in the country, Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV), sold over 2,150 units, down 6 percent from the same month last year. Ford
VAMAmembers sold over 47,900 units in the first six months of this year, down 30 percent year-on-year. The commercial vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 39 percent.
