Workers assemble a car at Ford Vietnam's Hải Dương assembly facility - VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI – Local consumers want to buy new cars but are concerned about high prices. Many of them are waiting for more promotions to be offered by automobile manufacturers and dealers, according to car experts.

The local car market has not seen positive signals as purchasing power has gradually slowed down month by month since the beginning of this year.

Domestic car manufacturers and dealers have offered promotions to stimulate sales but have not received much increase in demand.

Trần Hoàng Vương, a Hà Nội resident, said that he'd been intending to buy a new car since Tết (Lunar New Year), noting that he's waiting for steeper discounts from manufacturers and dealers.

According to Nguyễn Mạnh Thắng, a car trader in Lê Văn Lương Street, the prices of best-selling cars have plummeted up to 100 million đồng in the last four months. A series of promotions have been offered by car dealers, leading some consumers to try their luck by waiting longer.

In addition, articles on price pressure have been frequently shared on social media platforms with many recommending buyers wait for prices to drop further.

Nguyễn Văn Lân, a salesman at a Suzuki dealer in HCM City said despite lower prices, the number of buyers remained low. Lân and his colleagues had to cut their commissions to attract buyers. Lâm said they were stuck in the squeeze as car buyers often asked for better deals from salesmen.

More discounts were being offered but sales failed to reach expectations, said Lân.

Trần Văn Cường, a car salesman in Hà Nội said sometimes salesman would spend their cash on social media promotion campaigns in an attempt to bring in more commissions.

The local automobile market continues to be bearish. Sales of imported cars are even worse as only domestically assembled cars can enjoy the 50 per cent vehicle registration tax.

According to a Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Associations (VAMA) report issued on June 13, automobile sales, including imported cars of non-VAMA manufacturers, were down 52.7 per cent year-on-year to 20,726 units in May

In May, Việt Nam reported car sales with a total turnover of US$191.2 million, a sharp fall of 38.3 per cent in volume and 33.6 per cent in turnover compared with April.

This was the second time that CBU (complete built unit) imports saw a sharp downward trend. Before that, in April 2023, CBU imports were 12,323, a decrease of 19.1 per cent from March. 

Experts said the sharp fall in exports was not a surprise at all, noting that imports peaked in March with 15,228 cars imported. 

The market's weak demand has affected the automobile industry and dealt a strong blow to car importers. It has also affected State budget collections as tax collections from CBU car imports make up a large contribution to the State budget.

The Government Office this month has just issued a document on the registration fees for domestically manufactured and assembled cars.

Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái assigned the Ministry of Finance to liaise with relevant agencies in writing a draft of the Government's decree on registration fees for domestically manufactured and assembled automobiles.

The new registration fees will be applicable from July 1 to the end of 2023. -