Tariff rules stir auto industry optimism

Car sales last year fell 6 per cent against the previous year to 112,224 units due to the ongoing effects of the economic crisis, according to the Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

The data includes sales of both domestically produced and imported vehicles. According to the General Statistics Office, Viet Nam imported 53,100 completely built units (CBUs), valued at US$960 million last year, down 34.1 per cent year-on-year and 22.4 per cent by value.

The association reported that sales of multi-purpose vehicles declined up to 13 per cent and the decreasing figures for commercial vehicles and four-seaters stood at 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

Toyota topped sales with a total of 31,135 cars sold last year, up 3 per cent over the previous year. Although ranking second with 26,047 cars sold last year, Truong Hai had the highest growth at 20 per cent. Vinamotor also reported total sales of 12,274 units.

In December, a total of 12,485 cars were sold, a 17 per cent year-on-year decline, the association said. It was the sixth consecutive month the industry suffered a drop in sales.

In that month, Toyota still topped the sales list with 3,603 units sold, however, the figure was still down 14 per cent against the same period of 2009. Truong Hai and Vinamotor followed with 2,720 units (down 4 per cent) and 1,176 units (down 13 per cent), respectively.

Industry insiders admitted that last year was more difficult than 2009 for the domestic auto market because of lingering effects of the global economic crisis. However, they expected this year to see improvements thanks to a new regulation to shave tariffs on vehicles imported from ASEAN countries, effective January 1.

Under the new tariff, vehicles with fewer than nine seats and an engine capacity of 1.8-2.5 litres would see import taxes lowered by 1 per cent to 82 per cent, while rates for vehicles with larger engines would drop by 6 per cent to 77 per cent.

Nguyen Van Long, a salesman at an Au Co Street showroom, estimated that vehicles with a cylinder size of less than 2.0 litres would enjoy a reduction of roughly 0.8 per cent against the current price. The reductions for vehicles with cylinders of 2.0–3.0 litres would be 0.9 per cent. For cars with cylinders of 3.0 litres or more, the savings would be roughly 4.4 per cent.

“A Yaris would enjoy a reduction of roughly $126.6, while the figure for a Camry would be $345.6. Buyers of makers like Venza, Lexus and Accura, whose cylinders are more than 3.0 litres, would likely see reductions of roughly $1,019, $2,270 and $3,000 per unit,” Long said. — VNS

Tags: China auto market, China automotive, China automotive industry