Vietnamese people still prefer imported Korean cars.
Of the more than 35,000 completely assembled cars imported into Vietnam in 2013, over 40% were imported from South Korea, followed by Thailand, China, and so on.
According to newly released statistics from the General Department of Customs, in 2013, Vietnam imported 35,213 complete automobiles of all types, with a value of nearly 727 million USD, an increase of 28.5% in volume and 18% in value compared to the whole year of 2012.
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| Hyundai cars dominate among Korean car brands imported into Vietnam. |
By market share, South Korea continues to be the main supplier of complete automobiles to Vietnam with 14,540 units, a 23% increase compared to 2012 and accounting for 41% of the country's total imported complete automobiles. Leading among imported Korean car brands in Vietnam is still Hyundai with approximately 9,000 units (according to Hyundai Thanh Cong - the official importer and distributor of Hyundai passenger cars in Vietnam).
The next largest markets were Thailand with 7,764 units, up 76%; China with 4,372 units, up 12%; and Japan with 2,305 units, up 80% compared to 2012.
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| Structure of automobile imports in 2012 and 2013. Source: General Department of Customs. |
Notably, the increase in car imports in 2013 was mainly due to a sharp rise in truck imports. Specifically, the import volume of trucks was nearly 16,730 units, worth 381 million USD, a sharp increase of 69% in volume and 29% in value; the import volume of passenger cars with 9 seats or fewer was nearly 15,500 units, worth over 180 million USD, an increase of 13% in volume and 27% in value compared to the previous year.
According to VNmedia
