Thailand overtakes China to become Vietnam’s top car supplier

By Bach Duong, Bui Hong Nhung   May 30, 2016 | 03:23 am PT
Thailand overtakes China to become Vietnam’s top car supplier
Over the first four months of this year, three out of ten cars imported into Vietnam were made in Thailand.

Data from Vietnam Customs showed that Thailand outperformed both China and Korea to become the country's largest car supplier over the four-month period.

Specifically, there were more than 10,000 cars imported from Thailand, accounting for about 35 percent of the total volume, while Korea accounted for 5,369 units (18.5 percent) and China was at 4.216 units (14.5 percent).

During the same period last year, Thailand was Vietnam's third largest car supplier, making up nearly 20 percent of the country’s car imports. China topped the market with 25.2 percent, followed by Korea at 22.1 percent.

A car trader explained that the majority of made-in-Thailand cars imported by Vietnam are pickup trucks.

“Thai pickup cars have flooded the Vietnamese market as the import duty is fairly low at just five percent. The special consumption tax is also only 15 percent instead of 40 to 130 percent for other vehicles,” he added.

When the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement takes effect, the import tax on cars among its members will fall to 30 percent in 2017 and zero in 2018.

Vietnam Customs said Vietnam imported more than 29,000 cars in the first four months of this year, down 16.7 percent on-year. Import value also dropped 16.4 percent to $732 million.

 
 
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