According to some information sources, Toyota has completed the procedures and is preparing to import the first batch of 1,000 cars enjoying zero per cent import duty under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) next month.
Accordingly, it is expected that this time, Toyota would offer the automobile models such as Hilux and Yaris, which are familiar with Vietnamese customers. In particular, Toyota Fortuner, which has been absent in the list of imported cars for months, is reported to be back next month.
The super-cheap Toyota Wigo models are also predicted to enter Vietnam next month and be sold at the price of VND300 - 400 million (roughly roughly $13,000-$18,000), depending on the version.
In early March of this year, Honda and Volkswagen overcame the regulations of Decree 116 and Circular 03 to successfully import cars with the tax reduced to zero per cent.
Especially, the first 2,000 duty-free cars imported by Honda Vietnam were sold at the much lower prices than the previous batches, with Honda CR-V’s prices reduced by up to nearly $9,000.
Therefore, the information about Toyota’s 1,000 duty-free cars has attracted huge attention from the public.
However, confirming with TheLEADER, Pham Anh Tuan, head of the Strategic Planning Division at Toyota Vietnam, said that this information was inaccurate. Tuan said that Toyota had ordered and expected to import new cars to Vietnam this June.
Toyota’s representative refused to provide information on the number and type of Toyota’s first duty-free cars imported to Vietnam in the coming time.
Decree 116 and Circular 03 have impacted significantly on the Vietnamese automobile market for months. The number of cars imported to Vietnam by most of car manufacturers has fallen dramatically.
Although the number of imported vehicles has increased in the past few weeks but still very tiny compared to the same period of last year.
Toyota is not an exception, with its sales declining sharply in the first two months of this year. Accordingly, Toyota sold 7,966 cars which accounted for 21.3 per cent of market share, 10 per cent lower than the same period of last year.
Toyota Fortuner, the main imported product of this company, was suddenly absent from the list of best-sellers of the month right in the first month issuing the Decree 116.
