Auto Sales Fall 50 per cent On-Year in Feb: VAMA Report

Auto sales by domestic carmakers dropped 50 per cent on-year to 10,523 vehicles in the first two months this year as a result of slow economic growth, the latest report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) showed.

 

On-year fall was led by sales of commercial vehicles, which were down 66 per cent from a year ago, while passenger car sales dropped by 31 per cent to 2,344 units, the association said.

 

The statistics also showed that local carmakers sold 6,671 units in February, down 25.2 per cent on-year.

 

February sales figure, however, increased by 73.2 per cent on month since car companies have launched attractive promotion programs to local buyers or even slashed auto prices.

 

In the period, auto sales were down for all sixteen VAMA members. Toyota Vietnam remained the market leader in January-February with 2,705 units sold, but this was down 18 per cent on-year. 

 

Government statistics figure reported that Vietnam bought 2,600 completely-built units (CBU) worth of US$57 million in the period, down 75.3 per cent in volume and down 73 per cent in value on year.

 

Amid the global economic downturn, the Government plans a series of policies to reboost domestic auto market by lowering the import tax on car parts and accessories for local assembling between another 2 per cent-5 per cent and reducing VAT on automobiles to 5 per cent from 10 per cent.

 

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced to reduce import tariffs on automobile spare parts and components by 2-5 percentage points, effective from today [March 9].

 

Following table is the breakdown of car sales, market shares and the growth of the 16 VAMA carmakers in January-February 2009:

 

No	Car marker	Sale (Unit)	On Year Growth ( per cent)
1	Vinamotor*	1,546	-71
2	Toyota	2,705	-18
3	Truong Hai	1,434	-56
4	Vinaxuki	817	-60
5	GM Daewoo	1,074	-39
6	Ford	844	-37
7	Honda	599	-32
8	VinaStar (Mitsubishi)	344	-38
9	Isuzu*	313	-37
10	Visuco (Suzuki)	249	-50
11	Mekong (Fiat, Ssangyong, PMC)	128	-66
12	Hino*	73	-77
13	Mercedes-Benz Vietnam	280	-32
14	SAMCO	50	-74
15	VMC (BMW, Mazda, Kia)	62	-44
16	Vinacomin – Vinacoal*	5	-95
	Total	10,523	-50

Note: *: not including bus chassis.

(VAMA Release March 2009, Vietnam Economic Times)