|
Auto sales surge for second straight month
Car sales surged in August for the second consecutive month to 10,555 units, according to the Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
VAMA said that sales by its 17 members were up 31 per cent over the same period last year. However, it also said the number of cars sold in August was still lower than the 10,839 sold in July.
Despite the boost over the last two months, total sales in the first eight months of the year dropped 19 per cent year-on-year to 69,303 vehicles.
Among the total car sales, cars with less than five seats surged 3 per cent while sales of multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and commercial cars decreased 18 and 28 per cent, respectively, said VAMA.
More than 3,500 domestically manufactured cars with less than five seats were sold in August, a 50 per cent increase over the same period last year, VAMA said.
Monthly sales of this type of car was roughly 2,200 in the first half of the year.
Major auto manufacturers strongly increased sales over the same period last year.
For example, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp topped the list with 2,949 cars sold in August, up 27.9 per cent from the same month last year. Car sales by Ford Motor Co last month also rose 6.2 per cent to 654 units.
Car dealers attributed the increased car sales to belief among people and businesses that the economy was recovering.
Industry insiders also forecast that the auto market would further heat up in the fourth quarter of this year.
They explained that car demand in the fourth quarter often rose sharply to coincide to the time when new models were released by auto manufacturers.
Moreover, they said, local people would also try to buy cars from now to December 31 when the Government would resume the 10 per cent value-added tax and registration rates, rather than the current 5 per cent.
"VAT on cars was cut by only 5 per cent, and many customers are rushing to buy in the event that taxes are raised again in January," said Nguyen Trung Hieu from the VAMA.
Auto retailers are currently struggling to meet the surge in domestic demand. Many companies have stopped accepting orders for 2009.
Dealers forecast that the country’s car sales could reach 140,000 cars this year.
The country was estimated to have spent US$1.6 billion on imported cars and auto components in the first eight months of this year, down 29.6 per cent against the same period last year, the General Statistics Office reported.
vietnamnews
|
