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Customers test an imported car at a shop in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Truong Vi
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HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Viet Nam's auto sales surged 29 per cent year-on-year in October, registering growth on 2012 figures for the seventh consecutive month, an industry group said on Tuesday.
The Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) said 10,282 vehicles were sold in October, with 4,031 cars and 6,251 trucks.
In the first 10 months of the year, auto sales rose 20 per cent to 75,766 vehicles, the group said in a statement. The strong sales result was attributed to a brighter economic outlook, attractive finance deals, price discounts and reduced car registration fees.
Meanwhile, October's increase was also attributed to the traditional shopping peak during the last three months of the year.
The latest data, excluding adjustments for seasonal factors, came from VAMA, which comprises the country's 18 leading carmakers.
The surprising figures led to VAMC revising upwards its target for sales for the whole of 2013.
"With the current trend of recovery, the industry could reach 109,000 units compared with the original forecast of 100,000 units," said VAMA chairman Jesus Metelo Arias in a statement released yesterday.
The country's imported 3,000CBU (Complete Built Unit) cars were worth US$58 million in October, according to the General Department of Customs.
The figure brought the total number of automobile imports in the first 10 months to 28,000 units worth $551 million, up 30 per cent in volume and 13 per cent in value over the same period last year.
Customs statistics showed Viet Nam's auto imports decreased to a six-year low last year, reaching only 27,000 cars in 2012, down 50 per cent on 2011.
Viet Nam, one of the smallest auto markets in the region, this year proved to be one of the few registering growth against the backdrop of global downturn.
The country's auto market has endured a prolonged bleak patch in the past two years which have been beset by economic difficulties and tighter financing deals. — VNS