Vietnam Motorbike Imports Soar in First Three Months
Vietnam is forecast to have imported 15,200 finished motorbikes worth US$17.8 million in the first three months of this year, up 48.1 per cent in volume and 26.8 per cent in value, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In March, the Southeast Asian nation spent US$6.7 million to import 6,000 units, it said.
The soar in import volumes in the period is greatly attributed to the removal of all restrictions on motorbike registration, an official from the Ministry of Trade said. Previously, each adult citizen was allowed to have only one motorbike registered for traffic.
Meanwhile, the motorbike industry was projected to disburse $95.2 million on importing motorbike components in the three months, including $29.3 million in March.
Last year, Vietnam spent $63.5 million to import 44,800 motorbikes, 130.5 per cent on year in volume and 61.2 per cent in value, and $469.5million to import motorbike components.
Vietnam has recently introduced a plan to become a motorbike exporter by 2010. It plans to send abroad 450,000-500,000 units by 2010. The current production capacity of the motorbike industry is some three million units a year.
Motorbike makers in the country expect to increase sales by 20 per cent this year thanks to the Government’s recent removal of all restrictions on motorbike ownership and registration.
T.V
Vietnamese
