Thai cars flood Vietnam: Imported cars reduce prices

While car consumption in Thailand is decreasing sharply, Vietnam is growing strongly. Therefore, most manufacturers highly appreciate the potential of the Vietnamese market and said they will increase car exports from Thailand to Vietnam.

Prepare to land

Right at the Bangkok Motor Show 2015, there were nearly 10 car models introduced by manufacturers and announced that they would be exported to Vietnam in 2015. Four of the above car models are attracting the attention of Vietnamese consumers, namely Honda HR-V, Mazda 2, Ford Ranger and Ford Everest.

Honda HR-V is the car model that Vietnamese consumers are most looking forward to at the moment. In Thailand, Honda HR-V is priced from 890,000 to 975,000 Baht, equivalent to 590-650 million VND. At the end of 2015, HR-V may be launched in the Vietnamese market, initially as a completely imported car.

Another model that Vietnamese consumers are waiting for is the new generation Mazda 2. This 2-gasoline engine car is expected to be available in Vietnam, with 2 versions: High and High Plus. In Thailand, the prices of the two versions are 610,000 Baht (about 404 million VND) and 665,000 Baht (about 441 million VND) respectively.

With large-sized, powerful vehicles serving mainly long-distance operations, perhaps Ford's two new Ranger and Everest models will receive much attention from Vietnamese customers.

Four car models are of interest to Vietnamese consumers.

Ford Ranger is one of the Pick up models with the best sales in the Vietnamese market. This company has improved both the interior and exterior, such as changes in the radiator grille, the ability to wade through water up to 800 mm deep,... in the new version. The car has 3 versions, and will be launched by Ford Vietnam in Vietnam at the end of this year.

As a 7-seat SUV model that is already familiar to the Vietnamese market, the advantages of the new version of Ford Everest are its youthful and modern design, for the first time it has a sunroof,... In the Thai market, the car has 3 versions, with prices ranging from 1.269 million Baht (837 million VND) to 1.599 million Baht (1.053 billion VND). In the third quarter of 2015, this company will launch the Vietnamese market with all 3 versions.

Price reduced by tax

Mr. Brett Wheatley, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service of Ford Asia Pacific, said that the Vietnamese automobile market in 2014 had the second highest growth rate globally for Ford, and the high growth rate has just begun, so manufacturers have great confidence in this potential market.

Currently, Vietnam's automobile production development policies are still not enough to allow businesses to increase investment here, while import tax on complete vehicles from ASEAN is gradually decreasing to 0% in 2018, so the best choice to dominate the market is to import complete vehicles for distribution.

In the context of the declining Thai automobile market, manufacturers are tending to expand exports to countries in the Southeast Asian region. A series of enterprises in Thailand have established a business department specializing in monitoring automobile export activities to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The task of this department is to research the market and policies to advise business leaders in promoting automobile exports.

According to Mr. Brett Wheatley, in the coming time, there will be 2 product lines that will be strongly exported to Vietnam: compact cars mainly used in urban areas and large cars for highways and off-road terrain. These models will be integrated with new, modern and convenient features, meeting the increasing demands of customers. In addition, prices will be more competitive.

In addition to the reduction in import tax, making car prices cheaper, businesses said they will optimize costs to have the best selling prices for consumers.

According to Vietnamnet