Two big carmakers in Vietnam, Ford Vietnam and Vidamco, on May 4 kicked off their annual road shows in a bid to stimulate stagnant demand in the domestic auto market.
While Ford Vietnam intends to display its entire lineup, Vidamco will focus on promoting its Gentra model, which racked up disappointing sales of just 71 units since its January debut.
Both automakers said the road show, which will tour a number of provinces and cities throughout the country, would also help them gather feedback from the public. Later in the day, Ford unveiled its newest Focus five-door sedan, becoming the first foreign made model in its class in Vietnam.
A number of other automakers have made inroads in nudging the stagnant market which saw a 32 per cent drop in sales to 4,733 units during the first three months of this year by reducing prices, according to industry analysts.
Mercedes-Benz Vietnam has recently launched its biggest sales promotion of the year by cutting prices on a number of luxury models. Its C180 Classic was marked down US$10,000 to US$53,400 while its C180 Elegance was on offer at US$66,200, down from US$75,900, said the company.
Local listings put the Mitsubishi Grandis at US$38,000 (down from US$45,000) while Mazda’s Premacy and 6 Series were listed at US$26,000 and US$34,000, respectively, 46,000 and US$8,500 lower than previously posted prices.
In another separate development, the General Department of Customs reported that only six used cars had been imported via Ho Chi Minh City Port as of Wednesday. Authorities in the other authorized imported used car transit points Cai Lan in Quang Ninh Province, Haiphong City and Danang City said no such vehicles had been imported since the Government lifted its restrictions on May 1.
Pham Dinh Duc, director of the prominent Hanoi-based Duc Hoa Car Trading Co., said most dealers were carefully monitoring the market and gauging public reactions before importing used cars.
He noted that as local carmakers continue cutting retail prices, the price gap between locally made cars and imported used vehicles had been narrowed to just 10-15 per cent.
When a repeal of the ban on imported used cars came into effect on May 1, the tax levied on used vehicles of 2-15 seats was set between US$3,000 and US$25,000, depending on engine size.
Vice Trade Minister Phan The Rue said local automakers would still face stiff competition from imported used cars, saying European, American and Japanese-made cars were of better quality and assembled to more stringent standards than their locally-made counterparts.
VNS, Business Forum
Vietnamese
