Car imports continue to plunge

The number of cars imported into Vietnam in February was 2,500, a decline of 26.3 percent over the previous month this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Vehicles with less than nine seats accounted for 1,600 of the imports, a reduction of 400 of the cars over January.

The country imported a total of 5,900 cars in the first two months of 2010, tumbling by over a half compared to the same period last year.

The drop in imports is due in part to the removal of a preferential policy on vehicle registration fees; the raising of import taxes by 2-20 percent; and new Government policies that limit loans for importing cars.

The General Statistics Office also said that Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in the first two months of 2010 reached nearly US$19.9 billion, 20.2 percent higher than last year during the same period.

Of this, exports accounted for $8.86 billion. Imports, meanwhile, accounted for over $11 billion, an increase of 44 percent over the same period last year.