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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HCMC apartment market beginning to stir: report

In the Ho Chi Minh City property market, the apartment for sale segment saw both supply and demand rise in the third quarter, consultancy Savills Vietnam said in its quarterly report.

The supply of new apartments reached a record 16,600 units by the end of September, nearly triple the number from a year earlier.

Nearly 7,200 came into the market in the third quarter against 3,200 in the second and 2,900 in Q1.

The grade C segment saw the highest number of new projects, with the majority of them located in Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, and Binh Tan Districts.

The third quarter also saw the highest number of apartments sold in the primary market this year -- at approximately 4,400 units, they were equal to the cumulative number in the previous two quarters.

The majority of them, around 80 percent, were grade C units. Demand was mainly in the segment priced below US$1,000 per square meter, which saw sales of nearly 3,300 units.

Rising demand for apartments was fuelled by increasing disposable incomes and growing migration to the city.

The demand is expected to remain strong in the lower-cost segment where units cost VND800 million to VND1.5 billion ($42,000 – $79,000).

A further 26 apartment projects are expected to launch in the next two quarters, offering around 10,000 units.

In the next two years 104,000 new units will be built and put for sale.

Serviced apartments

There were around 2,950 serviced apartments of all grades for lease in the city, up 6 percent quarter on quarter.

Districts 1 and 3 alone accounted for 62 percent of them, with District 1 ranking first with 1,500 units.

With no new projects completed in Q3, the primary market remained unchanged at eight projects and approximately 800 units.

Almost 490 villas and houses were sold. The price of villa land ranged from $1,500 to $2,500 per square meter on average.

The Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7 accounted for 70 percent of the villas and houses that came into the secondary market and they sold at an average price of $600,000 –$2.8 million. HCMC’s population growth averages 3.5 percent a year, double the national rate.

With many projects being in the planning stage or awaiting licenses, the market is expected to add at least 9,500 villas and townhouses in the next few years, most in outlying districts like 9, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, and Hoc Mon.

District 9 is likely to rank first in terms of total area of units and number of projects.

Between 2004 and 2009 around 1.6 million people migrated to the country’s southeastern region, with a million coming to HCMC alone, Savills said.

HCMC downtown still gold mine

Though becoming increasingly congested, District 1 and its neighbors District 7 and District 2 are still attractive to investors.

In the hotel segment, nearly 83 percent of future supply will be in District 1, concentrated in this district near the main tourist and business areas.

More than half of the 100,000 square meters of office space that will come into the market by year-end will be in District 1 buildings like Bitexco Financial Tower (37,000 square meters) and HMTC-Savico building (15,500 sq.m).

In the medium term, around 900,000 sq.m out of 1.2 million square meters will be supply in districts 1, 2 and 7.

In the retail segment, Districts 1 and 7 will account for 54 percent of the 700,000 sq.m of new supply by 2012.

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City apartments sector heats up

HCM CITY — In the HCM City property market, the apartment segment saw both supply and demand rise in the third quarter, consultancy Savills Viet Nam said in a report.

The total primary supply of apartments for sale reached a record almost 16,600 units by the end of September, nearly three times the number from a year earlier.

Nearly 7,200 of them came into the market in the third quarter against 3,200 in the second and 2,900 in Q1.

The grade C segment saw the highest number of new projects, with the majority of them located in Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, and Binh Tan Districts.

The third quarter also saw the highest number of apartments sold in the primary market – at approximately 4,400 units, it was equal to total sales in the previous two quarter.

The majority of them, around 80 per cent, were grade C units.

Demand mainly came from the segment priced below US$1,000 per square metre. It recorded sales of nearly 3,300 units.

Rising demand for apartments was fuelled by increasing disposable incomes and growing migration to the city.

Migrants

In five years since 2004, around 1.6 million people have migrated to the south-eastern area of Viet Nam, with a million coming to HCM City alone.

Demand is expected to remain strong in the smaller-sized segment where apartments cost VND800 million-VND1.5 billion ($42,000 – $79,000).

A further 26 projects are expected to launch in the next two quarters and will offer around 10,000 units.

In the next two years 104,000 more apartments are expected to be built and put for sale.

There were approximately 2,950 serviced apartments in all grades from A to C for lease in the city.

The number of units rose by 6 per cent quarter on quarter.

In this, the market share of Districts 1 and 3 was 62 per cent. District 1 ranked first with 1,500 units.

With no new projects completed in Q3, the primary market remained unchanged at eight projects and approximately 800 units.

Almost 490 villas and houses were sold. The average price of villa land ranged from $1,500 to $2,500 per square metre.

Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7 accounted for 70 per cent of the villas and houses that came into the secondary market and had an average price of $600,000–$2.8 million. HCM City's population growth average 3.5 per cent a year, double the national rate.

The market is expected to add at least 9,500 villas and townhouses in the next few years. Many projects are in the planning stage or awaiting for licences.

Most are concentrated in outlying districts like 9, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, and Hoc Mon.

District 9 ranks first in terms of total area and number of projects (11). — VNS

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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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