Cambodian Used Cars Queuing at Borders to Wait for Vietnam's Nod

Secondhand automobile traders in Phnom Penh and Cambodian areas bordering Vietnam have stocked used cars and are awaiting the day Vietnam opens its doors to secondhand cars.

 

Many Vietnamese traders travel to Cambodia to buy old cars while Cambodian firms are preparing stocks to export to Vietnam after May 1, 2006 when used cars of fewer than 16 seats and less than five years old are allowed to enter the country.

 

“In Cambodia, a nice secondhand car costs only a few thousand US dollars, much lower than several tens of thousands of US dollars in Vietnam,” a Vietnamese trader said.

 

Lu Ming, a Chinese-Vietnamese entrepreneur, who has been quite successful in doing business in Cambodia, said a car in Cambodia is as cheap as a motorbike in Vietnam. One can buy a car on the spot without any personal papers. He said that many Vietnamese people who have relatives in Phnom Penh have bought old cars to bring to Vietnam when the country opens it doors to secondhand cars.

 

Many streets in Cambodia’s capital are full of Vietnamese businessmen and relatives, he said. Hanoi Pho restaurant at No. 310, Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh, is a lovely place many Vietnamese people visit when they arrive in the neighboring nation.

 

Another reason Vietnamese people visit Monivong Boulevard is the many showrooms located on the street showcasing cars of reputable car producers such as Toyota, Ford, Nissan, GM, BMW, Mercedes and Daewoo.

 

A garage near the Lucky Market has hundreds of cars, mainly 4-15 seat cars, both old and new. The price of a Toyota Camry 3.0 here is US$7,000, only US$5,000 for a Camry 2.4, and US$1,000 for a Toyota Corona.

 

Meanwhile, a secondhand Toyota Camry 3.0 in Vietnam is priced at least US$20,000. A brand-new one is about US$60,000.

 

In order to avoid high taxes, many garages in Phnom Penh can make cars older, a Vietnamese trader said. Older car will cost less, and will have lower tax also.

 

The permission for entry of used cars into the market has received strong protests from local carmakers stressing that it will destroy the country’s infant automotive industry.

 

The government’s agreement to used car imports has driven sales of 11 foreign-led carmakers in Vietnam down by 21 per cent to only 2,984 cars between January and February.