Auto sales in Ho Chi Minh City are seeing a dip this month because many customers are waiting for a registration fee cut to come into effect from January 1.

The new fee, calculated at 10 percent of the value of vehicles with less than 10 seats, will be less than the current registration fee of 15 percent. For example, if a customer orders a car worth 1 billion VND (47,600 USD), he/she will save 50 million VND (2,380 USD) – not a small sum in the context of the current economic problems.

Nguyen Tuan Anh, salesperson at the Honda Kim Thanh showroom in District 11, told VnMedia online that sales at his showroom are estimated to dip by 20-30 percent this month compared with November, because customers are waiting for the registration fee cut.

Meanwhile, some other showrooms in the city said that their sales decreased by half compared with previous months.

To boost sales, many automobile firms are carrying out promotion programmes, especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Hyundai has cut prices by 70 million VND (3,330 USD) for several models, Vina Mazda is offering gifts on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year holidays, and Thaco Kia is offering thousands of gifts worth between 3 million VND and 10 million VND (142-476 USD) to customers.

Buying a car at the end of 2013, but paying the registration fee early in the New Year is being seen as a wise option. At a Kia showroom in the city, Ho Trung Dung, a local resident, said he has decided to buy Carens S 2014 for his family members to enjoy the spring during the coming Tet (Lunar New Year).

He has paid a deposit on the car to avail of the promotional gifts which are being offered by the showroom in December only. But he will receive the car after the first day of the next year to take advantage of the registration fee cut.

Ho Chi Minh City was charging the highest registration fee of 15 percent in Vietnam. After that fee is cut in the New Year, Hanoi will become the city that charges the highest fee of 12 percent. The registration fee charged by other cities and provinces is 10 percent.-VNA