Thai cars are flooding into Vietnam.

For the first time, car imports from Thailand have surged, surpassing South Korea and China – the main car suppliers to Vietnam for decades.

According to statisticsGeneral Department of CustomsIn the first quarter of 2016, Thailand became the leading supplier of automobiles to Vietnam with over 7,800 units, an increase of 64.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Thailand is a major automotive industrial powerhouse in Southeast Asia and also one of the largest automotive manufacturing and export centers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Conversely, the number of cars imported from South Korea was 3,560 units, and from China was 2,260 units, a sharp decrease of 41% and 58% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2015.

According to the Ministry of Finance, one of the reasons for the sharp increase in car imports from Thailand to Vietnam is:due to preferential import tax policies under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.On the other hand, the prices of cars imported from Thailand are also competitive, which is why they have surpassed those from South Korea and China.

According to the Ministry of Finance, since 2016,car import taxWithin the ASEAN bloc, import tax rates decreased from 50% to 40%, then to 30% in 2017, and further to 0% from 2018 onwards. Consequently, the volume of vehicles imported from ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Indonesia increased sharply to take advantage of these tax incentives.

According to the General Department of Customs, the country imported more than 19,700 cars, a decrease of 16.8% compared to the first quarter of last year. Imports of most types of vehicles decreased, except for trucks.

Specifically, the number of imported trucks was 9,860 units, an increase of 16%; passenger cars with 9 seats or fewer totaled nearly 6,900 units, a decrease of 37.6%; and other types of vehicles totaled over 3,000 units, a decrease of 45.6%.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper