Prices of automobiles in Vietnam will further fall as most carmakers in the country have slashed selling prices to take market advantages over imported four-wheelers, economists forecast.
According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), car sales by 11 foreign-led automakers were down 32 per cent on year to 4,733 in the first three months of this year as buyers waited for used car imports to pull down prices.
In the meantime, carmakers will stimulate demand by launching more price cuts, they said.
With an absolute tax ranging between US$3,000 and US$25,000 in combination with the luxury tax and VAT, an imported secondhand automobile is calculated to be equal to 75 per cent of the price of automobiles of the same model manufactured in the country, where already the price of a car is at least 1.5-2 times higher than prices in regional countries.
“The uncompetitive import inflow is also another rationale for carmakers to reduce selling prices,” they added.
In addition, the government’s decision to ban State-funded organizations to buy automobiles will put more pressures on carmakers to cut prices to push up sales.
Currently, Vinastar is offering discounts of $400-5,900 for four sedan series Pajero, Grandis, Lancer an Jolie, free coupons of VND1 million for services and parts, and lucky draws with prizes including three Grandis and six Jolie cars from April to June.
Mercedes-Benz Vietnam discounted $1,000-6,500 for each unit of the C- 80K, C 240, C 280, E 200 and Sprinter 311 models.
The country’s two largest foreign-led carmakers also made big price reductions to grasp more market shares.
VNA, Saigon Times Daily
Vietnamese
