Vietnam imported 1,421 secondhand passenger cars in a year starting from last May, when foreign used cars were first allowed for sale in the country, showed statistics by the General Department of Customs.
Car traders bought 849 cars in the last seven months last year and 572 units in the first four months this year, it said.
“The inbound shipment volume is almost unchanged, although import duties on used cars were cut 5-20 per cent, depending on engine capacity,” an official said.
Most imported models are low-end vehicles or luxury models, he said.
“Because of the taxation mechanism, we prefer importing luxury models or small ones,” a trader said. “No matter how much the car is, the tax sum is same if the engine capacity is the same. The luxury models will bring more profits to us,” he explained.
Dozens of imported vehicles belong to limited versions like Lamborghini Gallardo coupe, Maybach 62, Hummer H3, Cadillac Escalade, and Audi Q7, as well as a large volume of luxury models like 87 Lexus, 69 Mercedes-Benz, 60 BMW, 41 Toyota Sienna XLE, Smart Forfour and Volkswagen.
At present, Vietnam applies absolute tax (a fixed amount of tax for vehicles of the same category, regardless of origin and price), 50 per cent special consumption tax and 10 per cent value-added tax, which reportedly increase vehicle price several times in comparison with import prices.
The absolute tax ranges between US$3,000 and US$26,000 a unit.
Vietnam is now home to 13 foreign carmakers, which mainly produce medium-class sedans. (VnExpress)
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