Members of the Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) sold 22,409 automobiles of all kinds last month, a decrease of 8 per cent compared to the previous month.

This is the second month in a row that VAMA's sales have dropped after increasing by 30 per cent and 33 per cent in February and March, respectively.

Of the total, 14,483 passenger cars, 6,096 commercial vehicles and 147 special-purpose ones were sold, down 8 per cent, 6 per cent, and 16 per cent from April, respectively.

The sales of domestically-assembled vehicles decreased by 9 per cent while the number of imported ones sold dropped by 5 per cent compared to the previous month.

VAMA's members sold a total of 113,527 units in the first five months of this year, a decrease of 36 per cent year-on-year.

Among the non-VAMA members that unveiled their sales, Thanh Cong Group (TC Group) supplied 4,592 units to the market in May while VinFast sold 2,996 electric automobiles during the period.

Toyota topped the list of sellers last month, followed by Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Honda with 3,734; 3,575; 2,695; 2336; 2,311, 1,803 and 1,757 units, respectively.

Experts attributed the decrease in automobile sales in the past two months to economic difficulties which have forced businesses and consumers to reduce their spending.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance issued Document No 5836/BTC-CST collecting opinions from ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on the Government's Decree on the collection of registration fees for domestically manufactured and assembled automobiles.

The document clearly states that the Ministry of Finance submits the draft degree to the Government before June 15.

The Ministry of Justice will promptly appraise the draft right after receiving the complete dossier from the Ministry of Finance, ensuring the deadline for submission to the Government.

The above agencies are responsible to the Government and the Prime Minister for the quality and progress of the performance of their assigned tasks, ensuring that they are on time, without delay.

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai requested the Ministry of Finance to urgently develop a draft of the Government's Decree on the collection of registration fees for domestically manufactured and assembled cars in the direction of slashing 50 per cent and applying from July 1 to the end of the year.

The whole automobile industry is looking forward to the move to reduce registration fees by 50 per cent for domestically manufactured and assembled cars, which is expected to help manufacturing and distribution businesses overcome current difficulties. — VNS