HCMC – Vietnam saw a surge in car imports from China in January-April, according to a report by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
The nation imported 5,821 completely built-up (CBU) cars from China in January-April, representing 18% of the country’s total car imports and marking a 2.5-fold year-on-year increase against the same period last year.
But Vietnam’s car imports from two major exporters, Indonesia and Thailand, edged lower. Car imports from Indonesia totaled 14,762 units, down by 2.4% year-on-year, and shipments from Thailand amounted to 10,420 units, down by 50.5%.
Vietnam imported 32,272 CBU cars in January-April, down by 23.2% year-on-year. Of these, 26,655 units have nine seats or below, constituting 83% of the imported cars and falling by 23.5% over the year-ago period.
In April alone, Vietnam imported an estimated 12,500 CBU cars, valued at US$244 million. This indicates a 21.2% decrease in volume and a 26.1% decrease in value over last month, when 15,860 cars were imported, totaling US$330 million.
These figures showed a recent market trend where car importers are focusing on affordable models averaging US$19,500 per unit.
