Falling petrol prices, longer financing arrangements and rising consumerconfidence are pushing Vietnamese car buyers towards bigger and moreexpensive cars.
Offering fresh evidence of a sustained reboundin the Vietnamese automotive industry, most major manufacturers sawmulti-year highs or all-time highs in sales volume last month, accordingto figures from the manufacturers which were released on November 13.
Lastmonth, the country's 18 leading vehicle manufacturers sold a combinedtotal of 14,938 units, a 45-percent year-on-year increase, according tothe Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
Of thisfigure, cars made up 9,220 units and trucks, 5,718 units. The VAMA dataincludes SUVs, passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
"This isthe 19th consecutive month that industry volume has been higher thanthat of the same period last year," VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Ariassaid in a statement released on November 13.
Meanwhile, salesfrom January to October increased by 40 percent year-on-year to 121,648units. Of these, cars made up 77,150 units, a four-percent increaseyear-on-year, and trucks, 44,498 units, a 38-percent year-on-yearincrease.
"Lower fuel prices are partly responsible for thecontinued strength of auto sales," said Luong Dinh Hung, GeneralDirector of ASC Group, a prominent car dealer in Vietnam.
Hungcited additional factors contributing to strong demand such as longerfinancing arrangements, increased consumer confidence and continuedpent-up demand, as consumers replaced old vehicles with new ones.
Lastweek, the prices of RON 92 and RON 95 gasoline were cut by 950 VND (4.5US cents) to 21,390 VND (1.007 USD) and 21,990 VND (1.047 USD) perlitre, respectively.
This is the ninth time petrol prices werereduced and the 14th time the prices were adjusted this year. As aresult, current petrol prices are equivalent to those in 2012.
Also,a large number of vehicles that will become obsolete this year alsohelped trigger demand, as the Government required the removal of trucksmore than 25 years old and cars more than 20 years old from thecountry's roads.
According to the Vietnam Register, a total of 3,388 cars, 13,033 trucks and 67 buses will be taken off the roads this year.
Abrighter economic outlook also helped to improve consumer sentiment, asVietnam's economic growth rate in 2014 was set at 5.8 per cent and CPIgrowth at less than seven percent.
The Ministry of Planning andInvestment, which set the growth rate, also predicts the country's grossdomestic product growth to reach 5.8 percent or even higher this year.
"Dealersare welcoming a consistent flow of shoppers into their showrooms, andthe pace will likely remain steady through the end of the year," said DoNgoc Quang, a car analyst, adding that "the industry is poised for avery busy holiday season."
From January to October, the countryimported 51,000 cars worth 1.1 billion USD, a 76-percent increase inquantity and 93-percent increase in value year-on-year, according to theGeneral Office of Statistics.
The figures nearly doubled those of 2013 and registered the highest level in the last five years.
Vietnam, which has a population of more than 90 million, has around two million cars and 37 million motorcycles.-VNA
Offering fresh evidence of a sustained reboundin the Vietnamese automotive industry, most major manufacturers sawmulti-year highs or all-time highs in sales volume last month, accordingto figures from the manufacturers which were released on November 13.
Lastmonth, the country's 18 leading vehicle manufacturers sold a combinedtotal of 14,938 units, a 45-percent year-on-year increase, according tothe Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
Of thisfigure, cars made up 9,220 units and trucks, 5,718 units. The VAMA dataincludes SUVs, passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
"This isthe 19th consecutive month that industry volume has been higher thanthat of the same period last year," VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Ariassaid in a statement released on November 13.
Meanwhile, salesfrom January to October increased by 40 percent year-on-year to 121,648units. Of these, cars made up 77,150 units, a four-percent increaseyear-on-year, and trucks, 44,498 units, a 38-percent year-on-yearincrease.
"Lower fuel prices are partly responsible for thecontinued strength of auto sales," said Luong Dinh Hung, GeneralDirector of ASC Group, a prominent car dealer in Vietnam.
Hungcited additional factors contributing to strong demand such as longerfinancing arrangements, increased consumer confidence and continuedpent-up demand, as consumers replaced old vehicles with new ones.
Lastweek, the prices of RON 92 and RON 95 gasoline were cut by 950 VND (4.5US cents) to 21,390 VND (1.007 USD) and 21,990 VND (1.047 USD) perlitre, respectively.
This is the ninth time petrol prices werereduced and the 14th time the prices were adjusted this year. As aresult, current petrol prices are equivalent to those in 2012.
Also,a large number of vehicles that will become obsolete this year alsohelped trigger demand, as the Government required the removal of trucksmore than 25 years old and cars more than 20 years old from thecountry's roads.
According to the Vietnam Register, a total of 3,388 cars, 13,033 trucks and 67 buses will be taken off the roads this year.
Abrighter economic outlook also helped to improve consumer sentiment, asVietnam's economic growth rate in 2014 was set at 5.8 per cent and CPIgrowth at less than seven percent.
The Ministry of Planning andInvestment, which set the growth rate, also predicts the country's grossdomestic product growth to reach 5.8 percent or even higher this year.
"Dealersare welcoming a consistent flow of shoppers into their showrooms, andthe pace will likely remain steady through the end of the year," said DoNgoc Quang, a car analyst, adding that "the industry is poised for avery busy holiday season."
From January to October, the countryimported 51,000 cars worth 1.1 billion USD, a 76-percent increase inquantity and 93-percent increase in value year-on-year, according to theGeneral Office of Statistics.
The figures nearly doubled those of 2013 and registered the highest level in the last five years.
Vietnam, which has a population of more than 90 million, has around two million cars and 37 million motorcycles.-VNA
