BMW shifts into high gear
Viet Nam is one of the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia for BMW cars, according to a senior official.
The managing director of BMW Asia, Neil Florentinos, said at the launch of a luxury model in HCM City in early June that in the first five months this year, BMW saw an overall growth of 40 per cent in Southeast Asia, with 46 per cent growth in Viet Nam, 30 per cent in the Philippines, and 14 per cent in Indonesia.
Horst Herdtle, general director of BMW Euro Auto Corp, said 25 Vietnamese customers were on the waiting list to buy the new imported BMW X3.
They would have to wait at least six months to get the the car which will cost VND2.32 billion (over $110,000).
Besides the BMW X3, other luxury cars are also being imported at a time when Viet Nam is struggling with a high trade deficit, analysts have said.
According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the trade deficit for the first half of the year is estimated at $6.65 billion. The January-June trade gap accounted for 15.7 per cent of the country’s total export value during the period, it said.
Automobile imports during the first six months rose 16 per cent over the same period last year to almost $1.55 billion. Of these, imports of CBUs (complete built units) reached $593 million, an increase of 45.9 per cent compared with the same period last year, the GSO said.
Tags: BMW, Vietnam automotive, Vietnam automotive industry, Vietnam autos market