Consumers show preference for imported cars

The number of locally-assembled vehicles sold in Jan-Oct was 153,100 units, while that of imported ones was 106,100, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

Sales of all vehicles rose 16 percent year-on-year to 259,200 units in the period, with passenger cars accounting for 73.3 percent.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that Vietnam imported 92,200 cars with nine seaters or under from January to October.

Vietnam’s Truong Hai Auto (THACO) accounted for over 30 percent of total sales, followed by Japan’s Toyota with 26 percent.

The best-selling car in January-October was the 7-seater Mitsubishi Xpander, followed by the Honda CR-V SUV and the Toyota Vios 1.5G sedan.

The value of imports of all vehicles reached $1.75 billion in the first ten months of the year, up 250 percent year-on-year, it said.

Local businesses assembled and manufactured 284,200 vehicles, up 8.6 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam earlier last year tried to limit car imports with a decree to boost local production, but importers managed to meet the tougher requirements and regained traction in the second half of the year.