Ho Chi Minh City’s car market in 2023 is very gloomy, with purchasing power significantly lower than in previous years. Additionally, a policy that reduces registration fees by 50% for domestically produced and completed vehicles is scheduled to end at the end of the year. Car showroom owners are worried that the prices of car models will rise again.
Sales decrease due to end of campaign
Ho Chi Minh City’s car market at the end of the year is boring. Several customers also visited new car showrooms located in An Lac, Tan Binh, Go Vap, District 7 and District 1 in Binh Tan District. Most customers are interested in cars priced between VND 600 million and VND 800 million in Japan and South Korea. brand.
Vo Thanh Dat, a salesman at the Mazda Tan Son Nhat showroom in Phu Nhan district, said that comparing the number of visitors in November and the first two weeks of December 2023, the number of visitors in the last few days of December was lower. has completely decreased, he said. Compared to last December, the number of visitors this year has decreased by 40% to 50%.
According to Dutt, earlier this year, the government issued Decree No. 41/2023/ND-CP regulating registration fee rates for passenger cars, trailers, semi-trailers and similar vehicles manufactured and assembled in the country.
Therefore, the registration fee rate from July 1 to December 31, 2023 will be equal to 50% of the rate specified in Government Decree No. 10/2022/ND-CP regulating fees. As of January 1, 2024, this policy will be deprecated. Therefore, vehicle prices will rise again from VND 30 million to VND 60 million per vehicle on average. As car prices rose again near Tet, showroom owners groaned that sales in 2023 are so low that it will be even more difficult to increase sales.
On the other hand, the used car market is also in an extremely difficult situation. In addition to weak demand, the government’s 50% registration fee incentive and the fact that many automakers are offering additional incentives are also causing new car prices to plummet. As a result, the number of units sold in the used car market also decreased significantly compared to the same period last year.
The sales manager of a used car dealership on Phan Van Tri Street in Go Vap District said that for the entire year of 2023, the used car dealership will continue to report losses, but the profits will be sufficient to sustain operations. He said that.As people tightened their spending, only a few decided to buy used cars for use during the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year)
At Mr. Hung’s shop, the price of a B-size sedan like the 2020 Toyota Vios E AT has been reduced from VND465 million last year to VND410 million this year, but no one has asked. There wasn’t. In previous years, many people asked to buy the KIA Morning model, but this year the price had to be significantly reduced, but many customers did not pay attention to it. Another model, the 2019 S version, was priced at VND 330 million last year, but in December this year, it was priced at VND 270 million to VND 280 million.
According to Nguyen Thanh Huy, a salesman at a car store in front of Highway 13 in Hiep Binh Phuc District, Thu Duc City, a 2017 Mercedes E250 was sold for about VND1.35 billion last year, and the current price is It is said to be sold for 900 million VND. Hui complained that the store had suffered a loss of more than VND400 million, but no one was paying attention.
The car market is not bright
Nguyen Thi Hien, owner of a Toyota showroom on Pham Hung Road (District 8, Ho Chi Minh City), lamented that every time automakers launch discount promotions, used car showroom owners become more anxious. Although they haven’t sold yet, the prices of new cars have fallen, so owners of used car showrooms are definitely losing money. Furthermore, as market competition intensified and interest costs became heavier, the number of customers purchasing service cars decreased sharply.
Meanwhile, according to Huynh Van Sanh, general director of Toyota East Saigon Co., Ltd., in order to stimulate consumer demand for the car market, in addition to lowering registration fees, car manufacturers and showrooms should increase promotions. policies and high discounts need to continue. Attract customers.
Nguyen Minh Dong, an automobile expert who has worked for Germany’s Volkswagen for many years, commented that the automobile market will continue to be in a difficult situation in the first half of 2024. To contain high inventories, automakers may have to cut production and imports.
Additionally, automakers and dealers need to introduce older, higher-priced car models to reduce inventory and increase sales. Domestic automobile demand is expected to remain low due to economic fluctuations. Therefore, companies have no choice but to lower their prices.
In terms of state management, the government needs to continue macroeconomic management policies. Furthermore, the government should consider reducing registration fees by 50% and reducing special consumption tax to stimulate consumer demand.
According to data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, approximately 263,200 vehicles were sold by the end of November 2023, a decrease of 29% compared to the same period last year. Of this, passenger cars decreased by 31%, commercial vehicles by 16% and special vehicles by 57%. By the end of November this year, sales of domestically produced finished cars had fallen by 25% compared to the same period last year, and sales of imported cars had fallen by 34%.
Written by Duc Trung – Translated by Dan Thuy