Thailand and Indonesia continued to be Vietnam’s major car exporters, making up 76% of the latter’s combined imported cars, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Thailand and Indonesia make up 76% of Vietnam's total imported cars.

In July, Vietnam imported nearly 4,800 cars worth US$108 million, up 34% month-on-month in volume and 10% in value. Upon breaking down, 48.4% of imported cars in Vietnam in July came from Thailand with 2,324 cars for a total of US$38 million, averaging US$16,351 each. Meanwhile, 1,302 cars were imported from Indonesia, or 27.1% of the total, worth over US$14 million, or US$10,752 per unit.

The dominance from countries like Thailand and Indonesia in Vietnamese car imports was partly due to the effect of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), under which imported products in ASEAN are exempted from import tariffs.

Customs statistics also showed that car accessories and parts worth US$347 million were imported into Vietnam in July, up US$68 million against the figure recorded in the previous month. Suppliers of those products were mainly from South Korea, Thailand, or China.

Data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) revealed the number of cars sold in Vietnam slightly increased by 0.3% month-on-month to 24,065 units in July but decreased 13% year-on-year.

The figure, however, marked the positive growth in car sales for three consecutive months following growth of 103% month-on-month in May and 26.4% in June.

Overall, car sales in Vietnam in the January–July period dropped 28% year-on-year to 131,248 units across all segments. Sales of domestically assembled cars reached 83,604 units during the period, down 22% compared to the same period of last year, while imported completely-built-units (CBUs) totaled 47,644 units, down 36%.