Posted on 22 Jul 2015
Sales of automobiles rose in most segments during the first half of the year in comparison with the same period last year.
In its latest report, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturer' Association said that some 103,500 vehicles were sold in the Vietnamese market during the period, an increase of 58 percent period-on-period. Sales included 45 percent from small cars, 75 percent in commercial vehicles and 136 percent from special-purpose vehicles.
In June, the sale of passenger cars reached the highest volume in every segment with 9,796 units, a growth rate of 9.2 percent compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, commercial car sales saw an increase of 0.5 percent to 7,834 units, while special-purpose autos lost 8.1 percent to 1,083 units.
As the purchasing power of passenger cars depended upon VAMA members, that of commercial and special-purpose vehicles increased for car importers.
The month also saw an unbalanced growth rate between locally-assembled complete knock down (CKD) and imported complete built units (CBU).
It was further reported that domestic sales reached 14,448 CKD units and 4,238 CBUs in June, increasing by 3 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
According to Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV), a member of the VAMA, the company's total sales volume reached 4,289 units in June, increasing by 25 percent compared to the previous month. This is also the highest sales volume of TMV in 2015.
Of note, the all-new Vios continued to lead in sales with 1,106 vehicles sold in the passenger car segment, 42 percent higher than the same period last year.
For CBU models distributed by TMV, in the first 6 months, the total sales volume increased by 72 percent, compared with same period last year with 2,782 units. Figures showed that Hilux leads in CBU models with 744 sold units.
Nearly 480 trillion VND for developing power grid
The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has spent nearly 480 trillion VND (22.3 billion USD) to develop power plants and grids from 2011-2015 in compliance with the national power development plan.
In the past five years, some 34 power generators with a total capacity of 9,852 megawatts were put into operation and work started on the construction of ten power projects nationwide. Particularly, the Son La Hydro-Power Plant designed with a 2,400-megawatt capacity was completed three years earlier than scheduled, bringing huge economic benefits to the country.
Other projects such as the Vinh Tan 2 thermal power plant and Duyen Hai 1 thermal power plant have made great contributions to ensuring power supply to the southern region.
As many as 865 transformer stations and transmission lines were connected to the national grid during the period. The EVN also completed the 500-kilovolt Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong high voltage line and the 220-kilovolt Dak Nong- Phuoc Long-Binh Long line to increase the transmitted power between the north and the south.
However, the EVN said that power overloads are occurring in some localities due to a number of delayed projects spurred by insufficient capital, slow land clearance, natural calamities and design changes.
In a bid to meet investment demands, the group targets to mobilise over 600 trillion VND (27.9 billion USD) from 2016-2020 through official development assistance loans and issuing domestic and international bonds.
The group will scrutinise provincial and municipal power development plans nationwide to adjust investments in line with practical needs; ask relevant ministries and organisations to facilitate administrative procedures, land clearance and power planning; and build advanced economic technical standards for the grid to improve efficiency and reduce losses during transmission.
In the next five years, the group will complete 11 power plants with a combined capacity of 5,819 megawatts while ensuring progress of key power projects and making preparations for the country’s first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province.
