Over 125,000 autos sold in H1

Over 125,000 autos sold in H1 By Hung Le Models pose next to a car on display at an auto show in HCMC. Sales of completely-built-up autos imported from other countries may surge in the remaining months of the year – PHOTO: QUOC HUNG HCMC – Auto sales reached 21,900 units in June, taking the total in the first half of the year to 125,660 units, down 6% year-on-year, according to data from the Vietnam Auto Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA). Despite a decline in the number of autos sold in the period, the passenger car sale volume increased 6% to over 83,300 units. Meanwhile, nearly 37,400 commercial vehicles and 4,500 special-use autos found their owners in the January-June period, dropping 21% and 40%, respectively, over the same period last year. It is noteworthy that locally assembled autos showed strong consumption, with a rise of 10% to 106,700 units, while the sales of completely-built-up (CBU) auto imports plunged 49% to over 19,000 units in the period. The results were mainly affected by the Government’s Decree 116 imposing strict regulations on auto imports, which came into force early this year. The Vietnam Business Forum’s car and motorbike working group, including car manufacturing firms from Japan, the United States and Europe, on July 4 echoed this opinion. VAMA Chairman Toru Kinoshita, who is also head of the car and motorbike working group, said the decree nearly caused a suspension of auto imports from developed countries such as Japan and various European countries in the first… [Read full story]