Vietnam’s imported car sales surge 28.5 pct in 9 months

HANOI, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — Vietnam witnessed a surge of 28.5 percent in imported car sales in the first nine months of this year while sales of domestically-assembled vehicles reported a decline of 7.5 percent, Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday, citing the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.
During the cited period, 111,942 imported cars were sold in the market while there were 113,641 locally-assembled cars sold.
Popular imported car models in Vietnam are large-sized vehicles like MPVs, SUVs and pickup trucks, said the report.
The sharp increase in imported cars in the nine-month period has indicated a significant change in the structure of the Vietnamese automobile market.
Vietnam News Agency cited automobile experts as saying that it had been seen as a chance for domestic car manufacturers and assemblers to increase their attention to product quality in order to boost their competitiveness and satisfy the growing demand from customers. ■