The sold volume comprises automobiles produced by VAMA members and imported by non-VAMA companies.
They include 13,743 passenger cars (up 3.7 percent from March), 9,663 commercial vehicles (up 5 percent), and 2,319 special-purpose vehicles (up 1.3 percent).
While 19,500 sold units were assembled domestically, a 2.5 percent decrease from the previous month, 6,225 others were completely built units (CBU) imported from other countries, rising by 29 percent month on month.
Regarding the sharp increase in the CBU sales, industry insiders said the special consumption tax rates on some automobiles with engine capacity of over 2,500 cubic centimeters will be raised substantially on July 1. Therefore, local people made use of the pre-July period to purchase imported CBUs to avoid higher prices.
In the first four months, 85,414 cars were sold, rising by 28 percent from the same period last year. They included 66,121 domestically assembled units and 19,293 imported ones, up 37 percent and 4 percent year on year respectively.
Some 8,000 complete built-up units worth 182 million USD were imported to Vietnam in April, declining 20 percent compared with the same period last year.
This information was revealed in an estimation report by the General Statistics Office.
A reduction in the import of vehicles from India, mainly the Hyundai Grand i10, may be the reason for the decrease, notwithstanding the strong growth in imports from Thailand, with pick-up models, such as Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50 and Toyota Hilux, zooming into Vietnam.
Vietnam's special consumption tax on vehicles with high-engine displacement will officially increase from July 1 and could be the reason for the robust imports from Thailand.
The import of vehicles from China has come to a standstill following Vietnam tightening control on overloaded trucks, which were blamed for damaging roads and threatening the safety of other travellers.
In the first four months of this year, some 28,000 complete built-up units were imported to Vietnam, worth a total of 669 million USD, reducing by 20.4 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year.
