~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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[Year 2002]

Vietnam '01 vehicle sales up 40% to record 19,556

HANOI - Vehicle sales in Vietnam rose 40.2% last year to a record 19,556, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association. Analysts attributed the sharp increase in sales by 11 automobile assembly joint ventures to rising consumer affluence and increasing demand from new businesses. More people can afford to buy cars as a result of economic growth over the past decade, and 33,000 new private enterprises have been set up since the introduction of a new Enterprise Law two years ago that makes it easier to establish private companies in communist Vietnam.

Sales by Toyota Motor Vietnam, the country's largest automobile assembler, rose 25.2% last year to 5,759, a VAMA official said. Luxury car joint venture Mercedes-Benz recorded the biggest increase of 242.5% with 1,874 cars sold last year, while sales by the Daewoo Motor joint venture rose 66% to 2,906, she said. The Ford Motor joint venture, the only American automobile joint venture in Vietnam, sold 1,915 vehicles last year, an increase of 60%, she said. Mitsubishi posted a sales increase of 68.2% with 1,612 vehicles sold last year, Suzuki recorded an increase of 59.4% with 1,508 vehicles sold, while Isuzu sales rose 64.2% to 744 vehicles, she said.

However, sales by Vietnam Motor Corp., which assembles Kias and BMWs, fell 23.4% to 1,800, while those by the Daihatsu joint venture dropped 66% to 469, she said. Analysts said the growth in sales by domestic assemblers may slow this year as the government loosens import restrictions and cuts import duties. The 11 automobile assembly joint ventures have invested US$326 million in automobile production and sold over 57,000 vehicles over the last 10 years, according to local media reports.

Vietnam, with a population of 79 million, has 550,000 four-wheel vehicles and about 8 million motorbikes.

The Associated Press - January 15, 2002.