Vietnam imported 109,000 cars in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 167.8 percent, reported the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The value increased by 157 percent during the reviewed period, reaching 2.4 billion USD.

 In September alone, a total of 13,000 cars were imported with a total value of 260 million USD, up 38.1 percent in volume and 24.4 percent in value compared to the previous month, respectively.

 According to the department, the imported cars mainly originated from Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China and Germany, accounting for 97 percent of the total.

 As a result, domestic automobile production and assembly has levelled off. In 2017, the assembly output was 258,733 units, while in 2018 it fell to 258,116. In the first half of 2019, the number of assembled cars reached 131,089 vehicles.

 Cars imported from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were tax exempt, meaning more support was needed for the domestic market, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 The ministry also said it would control the quality of imported cars.