People are competing to sell cars to avoid paying tolls.

Concerned about paying tens of millions of dong annually in vehicle registration fees as projected by the Ministry of Transport, many people have decided to sell their cars to avoid the burden of these fees. As a result, the prices of used cars have dropped sharply.

Owning a mid-range Chevrolet car worth over 600 million VND, Mr. Hai said the reason he bought the car three years ago was to take his family on weekend trips or back to his hometown. "Compared to those who drive to work every day, I use it much less frequently. However, next June I will still have to pay the same road maintenance fee as those who drive more," Mr. Hai said resentfully.

Many people are selling their private cars, leading to an oversupply and underdemand situation in the used car market.

Furthermore, the controversial road usage fee will also be collected per person, according to the Ministry of Transport's draft. Therefore, even though his car sits idle for 5 days a week, Mr. Hai estimates he will still lose tens of millions of dong annually. "Many of my friends said that after paying the road usage fee, they decided to drive to work every day because they've already 'paid for the job' anyway. But my workplace doesn't have a parking space, so I still have to use my motorbike," Mr. Hai said. After discussing it with his wife, he decided to advertise his car for sale because he didn't want to pay the fee based on a flat rate.

Browsing online car marketplaces recently, one can easily find many car advertisements with titles like: "Protesting the new fee policy, I'm selling my car," or "Selling my Mazda to protest the road usage fee"... Mr. Quang, a member of a large car forum, said he had to sell his car because he couldn't afford the fee. "Many people have already protested in the media with all sorts of arguments, but I simply can't afford the road usage fee, so I have to sell," Mr. Quang said. According to his explanation, although he owns a car, it's a means of transportation to earn money, not something he bought to show off his status.

With many people selling cars while buyers are waiting for official information on road tax fees, the market is experiencing an oversupply. A 2010 Lacetti CDX that easily sold for 530 million VND at the end of last year is now being offered for 480 million VND with few inquiries. Bargaining for used cars has become much more flexible than before.

Previously, when selling a car, sellers would only negotiate a maximum price reduction of 2 to 5 million VND, but now buyers are free to bargain down by tens of millions of VND. On the car sales section of a forum, someone reduced the price of their used car by 100 million VND after 5 attempts but still couldn't sell it. Learning from experience, some people selling their cars have resorted to offering unique gifts as "bait," along with the message: "Anyone who buys my car will receive a free gift."

Individuals selling used cars are struggling, but used car dealerships are facing even greater difficulties. Previously, dealerships would send people to scout out potential sellers, buy cars, refurbish them, and then resell them for a profit. However, the market has been sluggish lately, and they are no longer interested in buying cars. "We have a lot of unsold inventory that we can't even sell, let alone import more," lamented the owner of a used car dealership on Pham Van Dong Street in Hanoi.

Dung, a salesman at a car dealership on Ngoc Khanh Street, said that at the end of last year, the dealership sold more than 50 used cars per month. Now, however, "the situation is extremely dire," Dung said. Last month, the dealership only sold 12 cars. "Most of the cars that sold were in the 500 to 700 million VND range," he added.

According to Vn.express