Vietnam's auto sales skyrocket after registration fee cut policy

Auto sales reach nearly 25,000 autos sold in March

Car sales increase 58 percent over last year

The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Hyundai Elantra in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of TC Motor.

Vietnam accounted for 59 percent out of 185,595 cars the Republic of Korea (RoK) sold in Southeast Asia last year.

Although the Vietnamese auto market only ranks fourth in size in the region, it has contributed significantly to the sales of Hyundai and Kia, two major Korean brands.

Since 2018 Vietnam has accounted for more than half of all Korean car sales in Southeast Asia, according to VnExpress.

Sales of Hyundai and Kia in Vietnam in the first 10 months of 2020 rose to reached 82,129 units for a 31 percent market share.

Hyundai topped the market with sales at 57,039 vehicles, followed by Japan’s Toyota with 49,950.

Hyundai vehicles are made by TC Motor at its plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh while Truong Hai Auto (Thaco) makes Kia at its factory in the Chu Lai industrial zone in the central province of Quang Nam.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, Korean cars had a 5.2 percent share of the regional market in 2019. The figure for Japanese cars was 74.3 percent or 2.63 million units last year.

Vietnamese spend $1.9 billion on imported cars

Vietnam Customs reported that Vietnam had imported over 86,000 completely built-up (CBU) automobiles worth almost $1.9 billion as of November 15. As much as $3.2 billion worth of automotive parts were imported during the same period. The combined spending of nearly $5.1 billion on importing automobiles and spare parts reflects a year-on-year decrease of $1.3 billion due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A significant increase in car imports had been seen in recent months, with over 10,300 units in October, 9,700 units in September and 6,100 units in August. The first half of November saw the import of 6,227 units valued at over $135 million. This is a signal for car importers to kickstart sales campaigns for the year-end season, industry insiders said. Most of car imports are from Thailand and Indonesia, at an average price range of VND350 million ($15,000) to VND 1.2 billion ($51,700). Experts have said that the scale of manufacturing, tax exemptions and affordable auto models are elements that have allowed these nations to acquire large market shares in Vietnam. Vietnam had imported over 140,000 CBU units worth $3.1 billion last year./. Vietnam, RoK foster bilateral relations in new situation Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) should continue supporting each other and sharing experience in COVID-19 prevention and control and treatment to boost bilateral ... Vietnam, RoK to boost ties in vocational education Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Vietnam Park Noh-wan on February 18 ... Vietnam, RoK team up in settling postwar consequences The two sides agreed to continuously enhance cooperation in the coming time, focusing on expanding the project to Quang Nam and Quang Tri provinces, and ...