VietNamNet Bridge – Big automobile manufacturers all believe that 2009 will be another difficult year for them. Some have even predicted a 50% decrease in car sales in 2009 from this year.

VietNamNet briefs the opinions representatives of big automobile manufacturers spoke out in an interview given to local newspaper VnMedia.

Dr Udo Loersch, Chairman of VAMA, General Director of Mercedes Benz Vietnam

Dr Udo Loersch, Chairman of VAMA

The automobile market obtained impressive figures in the first half of 2008, but it then became more difficult in the second half. However, in general, the market still gained considerable growth for the whole year, which should be seen as an encouraging result in the difficult conditions of the national economy.

I think the automobile market in 2009 will recover as soon as there are good signs from the national economy, stock market and real estate market. However, the market’s recovery will still depend on the government’s measures to stimulate demand. As for VAMA, the rapid changes in tax policies always cause big changes. Therefore, transparent policies and stable taxation schemes are very necessary to help automobile manufacturers draw up the best business plans.

Gan Kok Seng, Deputy General Director of Honda Vietnam

Gan Kok Seng, Deputy General Director of Honda Vietnam

We gained our sales target in the first half of the year, while business was not good in the second half. Economic growth slowed down, while interest rates and ownership registration tax both increased, which have impacted the automobile market.

We hope that Tet will bring some changes, but we still predict that demand will remain low due to the economic growth slow down. In order to settle the difficulties, I think it is necessary to have positive changes in tax policies.

Huynh Du An, General Director of Euro Auto, the

Huynh Du An, General Director of Euro Auto

official distributor of BMW cars in Vietnam

With the current economic recovery, I personally think that the automobile market will see slight growth in 2009 before gaining 2006’s growth rate by the end of 2009.

The government is taking measures to stimulate demand in order to support the economic growth. Therefore, I believe in the market’s recovery.

Nobuhiko Murakami, General Director of Toyota Vietnam

Nobuhiko Murakami, General Director of Toyota Vietnam

The government of Vietnam has set up a lot of new policies and regulations which has led market demand to decrease. With the government’s policies, we understand that Vietnam gave different priorities for vehicles with the priority levels as follows: buses, trucks, and 6-9 seaters.

However, the government has changed the policy, while imposing a high tax on 6-9 seaters as of April 2009. This will cause difficulties for manufacturers. Our sales of Innova will surely decrease as a result of the sharp increases of the luxury tax.

However, I am still optimistic about the development of the local automobile industry. The automobile market will recover and develop in accordance with the national economy’s development.

Ha Minh Tuan, General Director of Hyundai Vietnam

Ha Minh Tuan, General Director of Hyundai Vietnam

2008 witnessed a lot of ups and downs and there were more difficulties than advantages.

The biggest difficulty for us was the rapid changes of tax policies. The import tax rose continuously from 60% to 83%, which made import prices increase. The ownership registration tax increased by two-fold, from 5% to 10%, and then the luxury tax also increased.

The ‘emergency breaks’ made the automobile market heavily fluctuate. I hope that management policies will be more stable in 2009, and monetary policies will be loosened to stimulate demand.

Michael Pease, General Director of Ford Vietnam

Michael Pease, General Director of Ford Vietnam

The adjusted luxury tax policy will lead to car price increases, especially MPV 7 seaters by 15-20%, which will make sales more difficult in 2009. The price of a Ford Everest, for example, will be $5,000 more expensive. We cannot see any considerable possibility for the recovery of the market in 2009. However, we are optimistic about Vietnam’s automobile industry and we will keep making investment and preparing for the development of Ford in Vietnam in the future.

(Source: VnMedia)