Vietnam April auto sales leap 23 pct

Vietnamese auto sales in April jumped 23 percent from the same month in 2009 to 9,551 units after falling an annual 16 percent in March, an industry report said.

For the first four months of the year, sales were up 5 percent from the same period last year, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a monthly report seen Monday.

In April, sales of SUVs, MPVs and crossovers jumped 75 percent from the same month last year to 1,622 units, commercial vehicle sales rose 19 percent to 5,546 units and passenger cars rose 8 percent to 2,383 units, it said.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp sold 9,134 cars in the January-April period, an increase of 29.6 percent from a year before, retaining its position as top seller in Vietnam.