Automobile imports down in May

Automobile imports in May were down 5.2% in quantity and 9.1% in value year on year. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam spent nearly 270 million USD onimporting 10,000 completely-built automobiles (CBUs) in May, a decrease of6.3% from a year earlier.

Compared to the same period last year, automobile imports in May weredown 5.2% in quantity and 9.1% in value.

Imported CBUs have declined for two consecutive months in bothquantity and value when compared to the previous month amid slumping demand.

However, the figures for the first five months of this year stillpicked up 26.7% in quantity and 16.4% in value to 64,344 CBUs and more than 1.4billion USD, respectively, according to statistics released by the General StatisticsOffice (GSO).

The statistics show that in the past three months, despite carmanufacturers focusing on stimulating consumer demand by offering discounts andpromotional programmers, car sales are still very low.

Specifically, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association(VAMA) and two major car manufacturers Hyundai Thanh Cong (TC Group) and ViaSatannounced that only 30,799 units were sold in April, down 16.2% month on month and40.5% year on year.

Automobile manufacturers are still waiting for support from theGovernment, specifically a cut of 50% in the registration fee./.

VNA