Vietnam's auto import continues to slide in August

The total number of imported automobiles in Vietnam continue to fall from July's figures of nearly 2,700 units to around 2,000 units in August, according to statistics by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on Thursday. The figure made the second consecutive month of sliding trend on imported automobiles, with July's 2,700 units compared to 4,000 units in June, said the ministry. MoIT's recent statistics showed the fluctuation of the country' s auto import, with volume up in May and June but down in July and August. Earlier in April and May, the country imported about 3,000 automobile units each and the figure surged to 4,000 units in June. However, the uptrend was cut in July and August. The ministry forecasts that Vietnam automobile market still remains unstable in the coming months. According to a draft circular by the MoIT on the preferential import tariff imposed on imported automobile from the ASEAN, the import tax will be reduced from the current 60 percent to 50 percent in 2014 and to be cut to zero percent in 2018. This is considered one of the moves to improve the gloomy outlook of the automobile industry. In the first eight months of 2013, Vietnam imported 22,000 automobiles worth more than 408 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 21.9 percent in volume and 5.7 percent in value on the comparable period last year.