Domestic automakers and importers sold nearly 29,400 cars in the country in December, an increase of 45 per cent compared with the same period last year. — VNS Photo Doan Tung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam imported 125,663 completely built-up units (CBUs) in 2015, worth more than US$2.98 trillion, marking a 77 per cent and 89 per cent year-on-year increase in quantity and value.

The boom in CBUs comes from the increasing demand for vehicles with nine seats or less and trucks.

According to the General Statistics Office, nearly 51,500 cars with nine seats or less, worth $363 million, were shipped to Viet Nam, up 63 per cent and 47 per cent in number and value, respectively, compared with 2014.

Meanwhile, nearly 49,000 trucks were imported, worth nearly $1.3 trillion, 79 per cent and 97 per cent higher, respectively, than last year.

Four auto-exporting countries - South Korea, China, Thailand and India – expanded their business in the Vietnamese market. China took the lead, selling 26,742 vehicles worth nearly $1.05 trillion, a 94 per cent and 95 per cent increase in number and value, respectively.

It was followed by South Korea and India, which sold more than 26,000 and 25,000 cars, respectively.

Other auto exporters to Viet Nam were Thailand, which sold about 25,000 cars, Japan with more than 6,000 cars, the United States and Indonesia with more than 3,000 cars each and Germany with about 2,500 cars.

Domestic automakers and importers sold nearly 29,400 cars in the country in December, an increase of 45 per cent compared with the same period last year.

According to a Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) report, the total sales reached 244,914 units last year, a record 55.2 per cent higher than the previous year.

Early last year, VAMA predicted that the sales would reach 200,000 units in 2015. But with the revision of the special consumption tax on automobiles, issued in September, which will raise car prices, Vietnamese flocked to buy cars before the new calculation came into effect on January 1, 2016. That is why the number of cars sold was much higher than predicted.

As for the market share, Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) continued to dominate by selling 80,421 units, 90 per cent higher than 2014 and claiming 38.6 per cent of the market share. It was followed by Toyota, which had a 24 per cent market share, Ford and Honda. — VNS