Low-cost Thai, Indonesian autos flood into Vietnam

Hanoi, August 21 (VNA) – Vietnam imported 1,287 automobiles of different kinds worth 31.3 million USD from August 3-9, 81 percent of them were from Thailand and Indonesia, according to the General Department of Customs. As many as 1,024 have below 9 seats, each worth more than 420 million VND (18,200 USD). Among those, the number of cars from Indonesia soared five-fold from the previous week to 491, mostly Toyota Fortuner, Avanza or Mitsubishi Xpander and Suzuki Ertiga. The remaining 340 were from Thailand, 70 from China and 68 from Mexico, which were mainly declared in ports in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the country bought six vehicles with over 9 seats, 209 trucks and 48 other autos valued at over 12.6 million USD. Businesses imported spare parts and accessories worth 74.3 million USD, up 38 percent week-on-week, predominantly from the Republic of Korea, Japan, China and Thailand. In July, upwards 5,120 autos were declared at customs units. It was also the first month in a year that auto imports, inclusive of spare parts and accessories, surpassed 100 million USD. In accordance with Decree 116 that took effect on January 1, 2018, imported automobiles must meet many requirements, causing difficulties for importers. However, they have dealt with them since the middle of this year.-VNA