Up to 80 percent of the completely built-up (CBU) cars imported to Vietnam in Q1 were from Thailand and Indonesia. The number of imported cars from Thailand was 19,300 units, up 56 percent year-on-year, while those from Indonesia stood at 8,950 units, down 26 percent year-on-year.

Thailand and Indonesia have always led the list of Vietnam’s car suppliers ever since the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) took effect in 2018, owing to the zero import tariff. Meanwhile, imported Chinese cars are dealt an import tariff of 47-70 percent.

Vietnam imported around 35,300 CBU cars in Q1, a year-on-year increase of 31.1 percent.

Auto sales rose by 36 percent year-on-year between January and March to 70,952 units, according to Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).