Vietnam Jan automobile sales soar 156 pct yr
HANOI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Auto sales in Vietnam in January
soared 156 percent from a year earlier to 12,084 vehicles as
well-off consumers switched from motorcycles, the Vietnam
Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Friday.
Toyota (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) sold 1,841 vehicles in January, accounting
for 15 percent of sales by all 16 car makers and selling 62
percent more vehicles than a year earlier, the association said
in its monthly annual report.
Ford Motor Co’s (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) sales jumped 70 percent from last
January to 809 units as it reported strong sales of the popular
Focus sedans, the sport utility vehicle, Ford Everest, and its
all new Ford Escape SUVs.
GM Daewoo (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) also reported robust growth, with sales
jumping 131 percent from January 2007 to 1,005 vehicles due to
strong demand for its Captiva utility vehicle and Centra sedan.
Dealers said buyers still had to wait months to drive the
models home.
Vietnam’s annual per capita income remains one of the
world’s lowest at around $835, but its vehicle prices are among
the highest because of high tariffs and taxes.
The Finance Ministry was considering reducing special
consumption tax on cars which now stands at 50 percent, state
media reported.
The January sales figures below include passenger cars,
commercial and multi-purpose vehicles, buses and trucks by the
16 car makers in Vietnam, 10 of them are joint ventures with
foreign companies.
Vina Star Motors’ foreign shareholders are Mitsubishi Motors
Corp (7211.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Mitsubishi Co and Proton (PROT.KL: Quote, Profile, Research), each holding
25 percent.
Vietnam Suzuki Corp.’s foreign shareholders are Suzuki Motor
Corp. (7269.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Nissho Iwai, part of Sojitz Holdings Corp
(2768.T: Quote, Profile, Research). Each holds 35 percent.
Saelio Machinery Japan is the majority owner of Mekong Auto.
(Reporting by Nguyen Nhat Lam; Editing by Louise Ireland)
