The import value of automobiles in thefirst month of this year reached only 45 million USD, a 76.4 percentdecrease over December, according to the General Statistics Office(GSO).
The country imported roughly 2,500automobiles, down 77.3 percent against the previous month, the GSOreported. As many as 11,000 automobiles totalling 192 million USD wereimported December alone.
Despite the sharp decrease, the GSO said that was a common trend as thefirst two months of the year often saw a sharp reduction in carimports, due to decreasing demand from the domestic market.
Industry insiders also attributed the sharp decrease to the impact ofthe Government’s decision to remove tax incentives from the autoindustry. After months of enjoying a VAT and car registration discount,car buyers now have to pay additional chares that are estimated toincrease the cost of buying a car by roughly 10-12 percent.
General director of Toyota Vietnam Akito Tachibana said that thedomestic automobile market would suffer over the first few months ofthe year, due to the increasing costs, However, it was expected torebound at the end of the year so that total sales would match those oflast year, he said.
Last year, the country recorded imports of roughly 76,300 automobiles,worth more than 1.17 billion USD, up 49.4 percent and 12.6 percentrespectively from 2008, the GSO reported.
Industry insiders forecast that automobile imports in February would continue to drop.
The general director of the Asia Automobile Liability Limited Company,Laurent Genet, said that car imports would drop sharply because of boldGovernment measures to restrict the import of luxury goods./.
The country imported roughly 2,500automobiles, down 77.3 percent against the previous month, the GSOreported. As many as 11,000 automobiles totalling 192 million USD wereimported December alone.
Despite the sharp decrease, the GSO said that was a common trend as thefirst two months of the year often saw a sharp reduction in carimports, due to decreasing demand from the domestic market.
Industry insiders also attributed the sharp decrease to the impact ofthe Government’s decision to remove tax incentives from the autoindustry. After months of enjoying a VAT and car registration discount,car buyers now have to pay additional chares that are estimated toincrease the cost of buying a car by roughly 10-12 percent.
General director of Toyota Vietnam Akito Tachibana said that thedomestic automobile market would suffer over the first few months ofthe year, due to the increasing costs, However, it was expected torebound at the end of the year so that total sales would match those oflast year, he said.
Last year, the country recorded imports of roughly 76,300 automobiles,worth more than 1.17 billion USD, up 49.4 percent and 12.6 percentrespectively from 2008, the GSO reported.
Industry insiders forecast that automobile imports in February would continue to drop.
The general director of the Asia Automobile Liability Limited Company,Laurent Genet, said that car imports would drop sharply because of boldGovernment measures to restrict the import of luxury goods./.
