Automobile imports drop off but Thailand accelerates to pole position

By Dam Tuan May 19, 2016 | 12:54 am PT

Vietnam imported 29,000 completely built unit cars in the first four months of 2016, with Thailand supplying around a third of them.

According to Vietnam Customs, the country imported nearly 9,400 completely built unit (CBU) cars in April costing $251 million, an increase of 20.6 percent in value compared to the previous month.

automobile-imports-drop-off-but-thailand-accelerates-to-pole-position

One in three imported cars came from Thailand in the first four months of 2016. Photo by DNVN

More than 29,000 CBU cars worth $733 million were imported in the first four months, a drop of 16.7 percent in quantity and 16.4 percent in value compared to the same period last year.

Thailand eclipsed China to become Vietnam’s biggest car supplier with 10,200 automobiles, of which trucks accounted for nearly 7,700 units, climbing 37.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

The country's official customs agency also reported that the import value of all automobiles into Vietnam in the first four months reached $1.7 billion, similar to the same period last year. CBU cars accounted for $669 million of that figure, shrinking 23.5 percent.