May 12 - The Vietnamese Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA)
reports that car sales for the first four months of the year increased by 181 percent led by a rise in the commercial car segment. The 16-member VAMA announced combined sales of 47,366 units for the period.

Vinamotor sold the most number of units sold at 11,230, followed by Toyota with 7,896 and and Truong Hai with 7,492. Commercial car sales rose by 313 percent with 29,745 units sold, while passenger car sales went up 105 percent with 7,791 units. For April, automobile sales jumped to 13,271 units, an increase of 183 percent.

Car dealers attribute the increase in sales with consumers shifting from motorcycles to cars and government plans to hike special consumption tax to 50-70 percent by the year's end.

According to the General Statistics Office, the country also imported around 28,000 cars worth US$483 million. The figure shows a 470 percent increase despite rising import duties on passenger cars.

The import duty hopes to lessen city traffic and control Vietnam’s trade deficit, which reach US$11.1 billion in the first four months of the year.