Car imports from China up 6.5-fold

Vietnam imported 9,400 vehicles from China in the first five months of the year, 6.5 times higher than in the same period last year, according to the customs department.

Of them, nearly 5,600 were special purpose vehicles and 2,840 were trucks, with passenger cars accounting for the rest.

China remained the third-largest source of vehicles for Vietnam behind Thailand and Indonesia.

Thailand dominated with 33,140 vehicles, double the figure from the same period last year, and Indonesia accounted for 18,340 units, up 16.2 percent, with the two accounting for 80 percent of imports.

Under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement that took effect in 2018, import tariffs on vehicles within the bloc are zero.

Vietnam’s imports jumped by 78 percent to over 65,700 units.

Auto sales rose 53 percent to 126,894 units, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.