Covid restrictions put the brakes on car sales

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association said its members sold only 7,714 vehicles in August, the lowest number in seven years.

Their sales were down 68 percent year-on-year for the month and 47 percent from July.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association said its members sold only 7,714 vehicles in August, the lowest number in seven years.Their sales were down 68 percent year-on-year for the month and 47 percent from July.

It marked the fifth consecutive month of decline for the industry, which attributed the slump to social distancing amid Covid-19 in many provinces and cities, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The country’s largest automaker and non-member TC Motor, which assembles Huyndaicars, saw sales plummet by 60 percent year-on-year in August to 2,182.

VAMA members have sold 157,777 vehicles so far this year, up 8 percent from 2020.

Car sales increased sharply in the second half of 2020 after a 50 percent cut was made to registration fees, which are substantial at 10-12 percent of the vehicle price. There have been no rate cuts this year.

TC Motor’s sales for the year were down 2 percent to 40,248 units, the first time ever its sales have declined.