Intellasia News Services -- Commercial vehicles lead car sales

Commercial vehicles lead car sales
Source: 10-APR-2008 Intellasia | Vietnam News page 15
10 Apr, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
Thirteen-year-high inflation rates and skyrocketing fuel prices were unable to stop Vietnamese people from buying 13,091 cars last month, the highest ever number of autos sold in a single month in Vietnam.

The figure, which represents a year-an-year increase of 193%, was fuelled by outstanding sales of.commercial vehicles, which reached 7,942 units, up 272%, the Vietnam Auto Manufacturers Association (VAMA) reported.

While the passenger car segment saw a 140% boost with 2,168 units, Multi-purpose Vehicles and Sport Utility Vehicles (MPV/SUV) experienced a 106% jump with 2,981 units.

Toyota Innova, Honda Civic and Chevrolet Captiva were the best selling models last month, which partially drove up overall sales in the country, according to VAMA's report.

Despite two-year-old designs without major improvements, Toyota Innova has kept up strong sales since its debut in January 2006, selling 1,521 units last month, breaking its own record of 1,506 in December 2006.

Chevrolet Captiva, the only SUV model from GM Deawoo Vietnam (Vidamco), saw 619 units sold last month, accounting for 60% of the Hanoi-based automaker's overall sales.

Honda Civic, the only auto model from Honda Vietnam, which sells mostly to private individuals, maintained its dominant position in the sedan segment with 647 units last month, the highest figure in the sedan segment.

Other autos that registering strong sales in March included the Ford Everest with 504 units sold, ranking second in the MPV/SUV segment, and the Toyota Vious sedan with 348 units.

Meanwhile, Fiat Albea and Ford Mondeo were at the bottom of the list with only one and eight units sold in March, respectively.

On the company's ranking list, truck and bus manufacturer Vinamotor led the line with 2,356 units, accounting for 18% of the market share, followed by Toyota and Truong Hai with 2,326 and 2,192 units, respectively, accounting for 18 and 17% of the market share.

The overall sales of VAMA members in the first three months of the year climbed to 34,095 units, up 180% over the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, the country imported some 12,000 complete built unit (CBU) autos in the first quarter of the year, up 30% year-on-year, according to the general Office of Statistics.

Import duty increases

The Ministry of Finance is in talks with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to raise the import tariff of CBU autos to 80-85%, according to a source close to the ministry.

The talks also included hiking the import tariff of auto parts and components, a move that could effect prices of locally-assembled autos.

And if the two ministries agree on the plan with the government's approval, it would be the second time import tariffs on CBUs were raised this year, following the April 2 hike, from 60 to 70%.

The continuous hike of import tariffs on CBUs has been believed to raise not only the price of imported autos, but also the price of locally-assembled autos.

"If the CBU import tariff goes up to 85-90 pr cent, the price of imported autos will go up a corresponding rate of 30-40%, "said Pham Huu Tam, general director of Tradaco, a dominant auto importer in HCM City.

The import tariff on CBU autos was at 100% at the time of Vietnam's induction into the WTO.

The Ministry of Finance on April 2 raised the import tariff on CBUs from 60% to 70% as part of a government drive to reduce traffic congestion by curbing the mass importation of automobiles into the country.

Car importers in Vietnam then said they would increase retail prices to cope with the higher import tariff on new CBUs, which became effective today.

Hyundai Motors Vietnam, the country' biggest importer of the Korean Hyundai brand, said it had increased prices on all models by an average of 6%, while the Vinh Hoang Co in Hai Phong added US$2,700 to the price of the Toyota Camry LE 2.4, one of its best selling models, to a new price of US$56,000.

euro Auto, an importer or the German luxury brand BMW, said it would raise the price of its models by 10-15%. However, the company said it would offer a number of sales promotions this month to bolster demand.

The country imported 28,000 CBUs last year, up 223% over 2006, while the CBU import value for 2007 reached a record US$523 million, up US$208 million over 2006.

Last year, Vietnam slashed the car import tax rate three times, from 90% prior to joining the WTO to 80% in mid-January 2007, then to 70% in mid-2007 and to 60% last December.