Hanoi (VNA) – More Vietnamese in urban areas plan to buy cars thisyear after the tax rate of complete built-up units imported from ASEANcountries fell to zero percent from January 1, experts from the Auto PurchaseIndex of Financial Times Confidential Research (FTCR) said.
Vietnam’sAuto Purchase Index (API) jumped 9.4 points from the previous quarter to 73points in the first quarter of this year, a record high for the country and thehighest among five ASEAN nations, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Thailand and Vietnam.
The massive influx of made-in-Thailand and Indonesia cars started to reachVietnamese consumers as many administrative procedures have been removed.
Meanwhile,the API for the whole region fell to 56.6 points from 58.4 recorded in thefourth quarter last year. Consumers in the other four ASEAN economies surveyedindicated weaker purchase sentiment. The Philippines saw the sharpest decline,mainly due to higher car excise duties effective from January.
Strongestdemand for motorbike was seen in Vietnam and Indonesia, which rose 8.2 and 8.3points to 61.7 and 66.5 points, respectively, in the quarter. However, expertssaid that Indonesian sentiment for motorbike purchases will not be sustainablegiven the market’s maturity.
TheFTCR ASEAN Auto Purchase survey is based on interviews with 5,000 consumers inIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The FTCR is an independent research servicefrom the UK’s Financial Times, providing analysis and insight into China andSoutheast Asia.-VNA