Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Car dealers are offering hugeincentives for customers to promote sales as the economic impacts from thepandemic persist and the lunar month of July is around the corner.

The lunar month of July, which began on Wednesday, istraditionally considered taboo by most Vietnamese for activities concerninglarge sums of money such as purchasing real estate and cars.

As demands shrink, caused by both psychological fear anddifficult economic situations, automobile brands are left with little choiceother than providing discounts to help push up sales and maintain market share.

VinFast is offering a direct discount of 80-120 million VNDby 30 September for every purchase of Lux A2.0 or Lux SA2.0, applied for clientswho have previously purchased the Fadil and Lux models.

Ford Vietnam is cutting 160-220 million VND off its 2019Everest 2.0L AT 4WD version, while buyers of Everest versions receive pricecuts of around 60-85 million VND.

Truong Hai AutomobileGroup (Thaco)’s Kia Cerato, Soluto and Sedona are being discounted by up to 60million VND. Some Mazda models are also on sale by up to 40 million VND.

TC Motor retailers are offering a 10-50 million VND reductionfor Hyundai Kona, Tucson and SantaFe. Nissan Vietnam is also cutting 20-40million VND for its Sunny, X-trail and Navara models.

Toyota Vietnam retains its promotional programme forpurchases of selected Fortuner models by the end of August. Consumers buyingthe two versions of 2.4 MT 4x2 and version 2.4 AT 4x2 will receive a gift of 55million VND in value.

High-end automobiles are no exceptions. Dealers are puttingHonda CR-V 2020, MG HS and ZS, Suzuki Ertiga (Sport) on sale with a reductionof 10-30 million VND in price. Buyers of high-end imported cars such as Jaguarand Land Rover are also receiving one-three years of hull insurance.
Firms have high hopesfor a revival of car prices as the lunar month of July passes and the COVID-19pandemic eases off, yet economic uncertainty has caused demands to plunge asconsumers narrow down consumption.


Vietnam AutomobileManufacturers’ Association (VAMA) estimated the car demands this year will drop28 percent year-on-year and firms continue to decrease prices of many models.

The latter end of the year is usually the time for brands tointroduce new models, which means more pressure on the selling side. Many companieshave to suffer losses, especially for cars manufactured in the beginning of2020 and earlier since they will only devalue as 2021 comes.

Car prices may pick up slightly as the lunar month of July isover. The Government support for the automobile industry is also expected toextend to 2021, yet the overall price trend is likely to remain on the low side.

VAMA estimated a negative growth of 15 percent for theVietnamese automobile industry in 2020.
 
The automobile industry contributes 3 percent to GDP every yearon average, equivalent to 7 billion USD in 2019. As car sales crash, theeconomy is taking a hit as firms will restrict production and cut down on staff,according to VAMA./.