VietNamNet Bridge - Foreign-invested automobile manufacturers have denied a MOIT report about Vietnam’s automobile industry that says assembled-in-Vietnam cars are twice as expensive as Thailand’s and Indonesia’s.

The report says car prices in Vietnam are nearly two times higher than in other countries in the region such as Thailand and Indonesia, and much higher than in countries with developed automobile industries such as the US and Japan. 

Meanwhile, automobile joint ventures said that car prices in Vietnam are not as high as reported. It is true that cars are more expensive in Vietnam than in regional countries, but the price gap is not that big.

Toyota’s Camry's retail prices in Thailand ar between 1,299,000-1,879,000 baht for six versions. The version similar to the one in Vietnam – 2.5G – has the retail price of 1,509,000 baht.

If converting to dong, the Camry in Thailand is sold at VND980 million. 

In Vietnam, the quoted price of the version is VND1.236 billion, or VND256 million higher. However, in fact, car dealers accept a selling price at VND100 million lower than the announced price. This means that the real price gap is VND156 million only.

Foreign-invested automobile manufacturers have denied a MOIT report about Vietnam’s automobile industry that says assembled-in-Vietnam cars are twice as expensive as Thailand’s and Indonesia’s

The same Camry version has a retail price of 581 million rupiah in Indonesia, or VND988 million, which is nearly the same as the price in Thailand.

Honda City CVT retails at 589,000 baht in Thailand, or VND383 million. In Vietnam, the quoted retail price is VND583 million, while dealers accept to sell at a discount rate of VND50 million, which means a price gap of VND150 million. 

In Indonesia, the retail price is 258 million rupiah, or VND438 million, or VND100 million lower than the selling price in Vietnam.

Toyota Fortuner 2.7 L imported under the CBU (complete built unit) mode from Indonesia is sold at VND1.308 billion in Vietnam, while it has the retail price of 651.8 million rupiah in Indonesia, or VND1.108 billion, or VND200 million cheaper than in Vietnam.

As such, foreign invested automobile manufacturers said that the retail prices in other regional countries are 10-25 percent higher than in Vietnam only.

Within the framework of SOM 2 which took place in Hanoi on May 17, there was a dialogue on the APEC automobile industry.

Automobile taxes are divided into three groups - high, medium and low. The countries which impose high car tax groups include Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India. The medium group includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Russia and Mexico, while low group includes Peru, Chile, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Brunei and the US.

Vietnam taxes 70 percent on CBU imports from non-ASEAN countries and imposes a luxury tax of 40-150 percent.

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