Car imports from India, Indonesia continue rising

According to the Customs General Office, in the first quarter of 2017, Vietnam imported only 105 cars from the UK, down from the figure of 235 during the same period last year. 

The average price of car imported from the UK sold in Vietnam was VND1.3 billion (US$59,000), excluding taxes.

During the January-March period, only 365 cars were imported from Germany into Vietnam, while the number was 600 during the same period of 2016. BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen are regularly sold in Vietnam.

The Customs General Department also reported that Vietnam imported around 1,000 cars from Japan in the first quarter, down from 1,700 units on-year.

Meanwhile, car imports from ASEAN and India have continued to be on the rise, particularly from Indonesia. 

During the first three months of this year, up to 4,400 Indonesian cars were imported into Vietnam with the majority being cars of less than nine seats, up five-fold against the same period of last year.

Vietnam also imported more than 10,000 cars from Thailand between January and March this year, against just 7,800 in the first quarter last year. Half of Thailand-imported cars into Vietnam are pick-up trucks.

From January 1, 2017, Vietnam cut the import tariff on completely built cars from ASEAN members from 40% to 30% to meet its commitments outlined in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, which aims to reduce trade barriers and expand markets among member states. 

From 2018, this agreement requires Vietnam to reduce tariffs on car imports to zero.