HCMC – Vietnam imported over 29,600 completely-built-up (CBU) autos worth a total of US$531.2 million from Thailand and Indonesia in the first half of this year, according to data of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Vietnam purchased more than 19,000 CBU cars from Thailand with a total value of US$348 million. Indonesia came in second with around10,500 units worth a mere US$184.2 million shipped to Vietnam.
Each of South Korea and India exported more than 5,000 units to Vietnam with a respective value of around US$93 million and US$23.7 million.
Auto imports from Thailand and Indonesia made up a significant proportion of the total, as tariffs from ASEAN countries have been cut, with tax on vehicles of less than nine seats dropping to zero next year from the current 30%.
Overall, Vietnam spent over US$1 billion importing around 51,000 CBU vehicles from abroad, down 15% in value and up 2.9% in volume.
Customs officers said imports of expensive cars had been in decline, resulting in a lower import bill.
Vietnam’s huge imports of CBU cars in the first half caused a trade deficit of US$2.5 billion with Thailand and US$340 million with Indonesia. The country also had a trade deficit with Singapore (US$1.3 billion) and Malaysia (US$600 million).
Despite the establishment in late 2015 of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises has yet to improve much.
CBU auto imports from Thailand, Indonesia up in Jan-Jun
