3:26:37 PM | 7/8/2005
The protectionism and incentives for foreign-led automobile assembly joint ventures have bagged very high profits, according to experts.
"Foreign-invested auto joint ventures make profit accounting for between 11 per cent and 23 per cent of the total annual revenues," said an official from the Ministry of Trade but he didn’t want to be named.
"These joint ventures further benefit from special consumption tax increases of 24 per cent to 40 per cent this year," he said.
Ford Vietnam increased retailed prices of Laser 1.8 sedan by 28.81 per cent while Toyota added 19.36 per cent to its Camry 2.4 sedan. GM Daewoo (Vidamco) also augmented Lanos and Mazda6 by 28.06 per cent and 30.23 per cent, respectively.
According to local media, prices of automobiles assembled in Vietnam are 1.5-2.2 folds higher than in regional countries.
"The protectionism and incentive policies are not bringing benefits to customers but turning Vietnam into a ideal destination for used cars from other countries," said the official.
Vietnam imported 4,000 automobiles in the first quarter of this year while foreign-invested carmakers sold 6,932 units in the period, according to the government statistics.
Vietnamese
