In 2018, the automobile market was affected by Decree 116, which regulates manufacture, assembly and importing of cars.
1.Contrary to all predictions that the car prices would drop from January 1, 2018, when the import tariffs on ASEAN sourced products are cut to zero percent, car imports will not arrive in Vietnam in the first two months of the year because of the strict requirements stipulated in Decree 116 and Circular 03.
Only in March did the first imports begin arriving in Vietnam as only a few enterprises could satisfy the requirements.
2. The car import prices fluctuated in 2018 with the price gap of up to VND100 million.
In early 2018, Honda announced the price increase of Honda CR-V from VND1.136 billion to VND1.256 billion. It explained that the cars were imported in late 2017 and still bore the import tariff of 30 percent.
Even in the second half of 2018, when more enterprises could satisfy Decree 116, scarcity still existed which pushed prices up. The price of Honda CR-V alone rose three times and decreased one time in 2018.
3. Some models saw sales at zero. No Toyota Fortuner was sold in the months from March to July. In January and February, only three products were sold.
Similarly, Toyota Yaris, a favorite of Vietnamese, also reported zero sales in the months from February to July. When the supply resumed in August, 330 products were sold.
As for pick-ups, Toyota Hilux and Ford Rangers were also in short supply at times.
4. VinFast officially presented itself before the public in 2018. In late June 2018, VinFast announced the takeover of GM Vietnam.
The Vietnamese manufacturer also took authorized sale agents of Chevrolet, becoming the exclusive distributor of products and services bearing Chevrolet brand in the Vietnamese market.
With the deal, the US manufacturer became the technological partner of VinFast. VinFast can take full advantage of GM’s existing facilities to make small cars. The 22 Chevrolet sale agents will be a part of VinFast’s distribution network.
5. On November 20, VinFast officially introduced its first car models Lux A 2.0 and Lux SA 2.0 at Thong Nhat Park in Hanoi.
It also marketed the small model Fadil and smart electric motorbike Klara.
VinFast’s products are made in its 335 hectare factory in Hai Phong City.
VinFast’s cars are the first Vietnam-made automobile products. Vinaxuki, a 100 percent Vietnamese owned enterprise, also cherished the ‘made in Vietnam car’ dream, but it failed.
According to a report on Vietnamnet