Auto imports drop 50% in Tet month

Hung Le

Cars are on display at an exhibition in HCMC. CBU auto imports fell in February due to the long Tet holiday - PHOTO: HUNG LE

However, data of GSO showed that CBU imports last month surged 65% year-on-year, suggesting that demand for imported cars is strong on the local market.

The country spent around US$130 million importing 5,000 CBU units in February, or US$56 million lower than the first month of 2015, but US$82 million higher than February last year.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam imported around 15,000 CBU autos valued at some US$316 million, year-on-year rises of 140% in number and 170% in value. Therefore, industry sources said the decline in imports in February was nothing abnormal given the long Tet holiday.

More CBU autos will be imported into Vietnam as auto assembly joint ventures tend to shift to car imports for domestic sale.

The country will cut tariffs on CBU autos imported from ASEAN to 0% in 2018 in line with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).

Auto sales reached 157,800 units last year, soaring 43% against 2013 with CBU autos accounting for around 72,000, or 45% of the market, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

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