Largest auto show set for late Oct in Hanoi

The unveiling of the Mercedes SLK200K at the Vietnam Motor Show 2009 in HCMC attracts a large pool of journalists - Photo: Quoc Hung

HCMC – Vietnam Motor Show 2010 in Hanoi, the industry’s largest exhibition in the country, will feature key automakers from October 29 to November 2.

Up to 15,000 square meters at the Vietnam Exhibition & Fair Centre (VEFAC), 248 Giang Vo Street, Ba Dinh District will be used to display the latest vehicle models of 11 members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).

The exhibiting firms will be Toyota Motor Vietnam, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, Ford Vietnam, Honda Vietnam, Suzuki Vietnam, GM-Daewoo, Vinastar, Mekong, Samco, Hino and Vinaxuki.

The 6th edition of the Vietnam Motor Show, which is being organized by VAMA, will also be attended by more than 100 local and foreign suppliers of spare parts, supporting products, interior furnishings, sound systems, and banking and insurance services.

Going with the theme of “Become Better”, the event will provide automobile manufacturers with the opportunity to reach out to customers.

A feature of the forthcoming exhibition will be to introduce green auto making technologies, according to VAMA.

Though the event is taking place at a time when the economy is not yet out of the woods, with automakers facing a host of challenges, it is expected to draw over 120,000 visitors.

Through the exhibition, VAMA expects to help warm up the market and draw the attention of consumers.

September sales of locally assembled automobiles fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units, according to VAMA. This was the third consecutive monthly decline in sales.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in January-September, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales plunging a hefty 14% to 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the first nine months.

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Auto sales drop 17% in September

HCMC - Sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units in September, although it was up nearly 500 units from August, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said.

VAMA reported that in September, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 19% to about 1,980 units, while the number of passenger cars fell a staggering 21% to 2,754 units. The number of commercial vehicles sold also shrank 14% year-on-year to more than 4,400 units.

Toyota Vietnam saw a slight decrease in sales to nearly 2,630 units last month from more than 2,800 units a year ago, down 6%. However, it still led the market in sales, holding a market share of 28.8%.

Ford, Isuzu, Honda, Visuco (Suzuki), Vinastar (Mitsubishi), GM-Daewoo, Mercedes-Benz and Vinamotor all suffered a slump in sales last month. Isuzu Vietnam sold 133 units, down 46% year-on-year; Honda Vietnam just over 190 units, down 47%; Ford Vietnam 545 units, down 41%; and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam 225 units, down 18%.

However, domestic automakers, including Truong Hai and Vinacomin – Vinacoal, witnessed the sharpest sales increases in September. Truong Hai’s sales increased by 382 units, or over 21%, to 2,190 units, while the little-known automaker Vinacomin – Vinacoal saw sales climb up from 13 units to 23 units.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in the January-September period, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 14% to more than 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the nine months.

Similarly, some 4,000 cars were imported to the country in September, worth US$90 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimate. Compared with last month, the numbers marked a 20% decrease in volume and 2.17% decline in value.

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Auto sales drop 17% in September

HCMC - Sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units in September, although it was up nearly 500 units from August, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said.

VAMA reported that in September, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 19% to about 1,980 units, while the number of passenger cars fell a staggering 21% to 2,754 units. The number of commercial vehicles sold also shrank 14% year-on-year to more than 4,400 units.

Toyota Vietnam saw a slight decrease in sales to nearly 2,630 units last month from more than 2,800 units a year ago, down 6%. However, it still led the market in sales, holding a market share of 28.8%.

Ford, Isuzu, Honda, Visuco (Suzuki), Vinastar (Mitsubishi), GM-Daewoo, Mercedes-Benz and Vinamotor all suffered a slump in sales last month. Isuzu Vietnam sold 133 units, down 46% year-on-year; Honda Vietnam just over 190 units, down 47%; Ford Vietnam 545 units, down 41%; and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam 225 units, down 18%.

However, domestic automakers, including Truong Hai and Vinacomin – Vinacoal, witnessed the sharpest sales increases in September. Truong Hai’s sales increased by 382 units, or over 21%, to 2,190 units, while the little-known automaker Vinacomin – Vinacoal saw sales climb up from 13 units to 23 units.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in the January-September period, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 14% to more than 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the nine months.

Similarly, some 4,000 cars were imported to the country in September, worth US$90 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimate. Compared with last month, the numbers marked a 20% decrease in volume and 2.17% decline in value.

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August auto sales down 18%

HCMC – August sales of locally assembled automobiles in the country fell 18% year-on-year to about 8,670 and were down 700 units compared with a month earlier, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) on Thursday.

Last month, sales of commercial vehicles were down 12% against August of last year to just over 4,160 units while sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 22% to about 1,780 units and sales of passenger cars down 23% to 2,724 units.

Truong Hai saw an 11% year-on-year sales increase to nearly 2,054 units, and Vinaxuki sold 674 units, up 2%, but other auto makers reported sales declines of up to 85%.

Last month Hino sales plunged 85% to 36 vehicles, and GM Daewoo sold around 726 vehicles, down 48%. VinaStar (Mitsubishi) was in a similar boat, with sales dropping around 63% to 157 units.

The leading automaker in the country, Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV), sold more than 2,440 units, down from the more than 2,950 units a year ago. Honda Vietnam sales slumped 37% to nearly 230 units and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam down 4% to nearly 220 units.

Domestic automobile manufacturers like Vinamotor and Vinacomin-Vinacoal posted hefty falls in sales in August as well.

VAMA members sold nearly 68,390 units in the January-August period, down 1% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 13% to more than 14,300 units. Toyota alone sold more than 18,980 units in the first eight months.

Similarly, sales of imported cars also fell in the first months. Last month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimated that the number of autos imported to Vietnam was only 4,000 units, down by 9.1% over last month. The total import value was worth only US$78 million, a month-on-month decline of 18.8%.

According to market insiders, the import car market has been strongly affected by a number of new policies, economic conditions and Vietnamese beliefs that the seventh month of the lunar calendar is not lucky.

The State Bank of Vietnam’s latest exchange rate revision has been a torment to many enterprises. The imported auto segment is one of many business sectors feeling the heat.

The Government policies to limit imports are becoming effective. They focus in many areas, including customs and tax. For example, importers have to show environmental protection certificates before they can make imports. And tax arrears are not allowed. The credit tightening of banks has also limited car imports.

In previous months, the volume of imported autos was down, but the value of import turnover continued to increase.

With the continuous increase of the dollar compared with dong from early this year plus high interest rates for consumer loans, increasing VAT rates and increasing registration fees, the car consumption in 2010 will stay the same as or even lower than that of last year, automakers said.

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