Ending of the 50% vehicle registration tax discount continued to be felt in the market
New vehicle sales in Vietnam fell by 8% to 24,133 units in March 2024 from 26,266 a year earlier, according to wholesale data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
The data, as usual, did not include sales by Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Tesla and Nissan, a growing number of Chinese brands and domestic automaker VinFast.
The expiry of the government’s 50% vehicle registration tax discount at the end of last year, which prompted buyers to rush into the market ahead of the deadline, continued to be felt in the market.
VAMA members last month also struggled to recover from the sharp decline in February, when buying activity was held back by the Lunar New Year holidays, despite strong discounting and dealer promotional campaigns.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registration tax will remain at zero until 2026 while the special consumption tax has also been reduced to between 1% and 3% as part of a broader package of government incentives to attract more BEV investment into the country, including import duty cuts for components and charging equipment.
