Imported cars start flowing in Vietnam

Several automobile brands informed that they have received vehicles type approval (VTA) certificates from the Indonesian government, sending them to the Ministry of Transport (MoT). It is similar to the document the Thai government provided, which has already been approved. Thereby, MoT will likely approve these ones too.

Earlier, after MoT approved the VTA of the Thai government, Honda was the first brand to import ASEAN cars into Vietnam, with a batch of over 2,000 vehicles (CR-V, Civic, and Accord models). This batch arrived at Ho Chi Minh City’s seaport in early March and is waiting for the completion of customs procedures. They are expected to be sold on the market from May.

According to Decree No.116/2017/ND-CP on requirements for manufacturing, assembly, and import of automobiles and trade in automobile warranty and maintenance and Circular No.03/2018/TT-BGTVT, VTA is the hardest condition of the regulations on importing automobiles.

When Decree 116 came into effect, many automobile brands complained about the VTA. In fact, after a short time, automobile import firms have announced to complete most of the dossiers and procedures. European luxury automobile brands like BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, as well as Volkswagen have imported their first batches into Vietnam, which met all the conditions of Decree 116.

Up till now, almost all importers have met the regulations of Decree 116. Some of them have started to import from Thailand. If MoT approves the VTA of Indonesia suppliers, importing contracts will be carried out.

The distance between Vietnam and Thailand is not far, so the time required for shipments to reach the market is relatively little. Import cars from Thailand are expected to arrive at seaports by early April or even the end of March. Then, it will take over a month to complete procedures such as go through customs, verification, and transportation before going on sale.

Imported cars from ASEAN countries are going to conquer Vietnam. Notably, they meet all the conditions to enjoy the 0 per cent import tariff according to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). As a result, a new price level could be established on the market.