Car prices drop during peak shopping season
Car prices drop during peak shopping season
The automobile market outlook in HCMC remains dreary though the country is in its peak shopping season in the lead up to the Tet holiday early next year, with many car brands marked down by VND20 million to VND300 million per unit to encourage consumption.
Local automobile dealers are rushing to lower prices to attract more car buyers as a result of high inventories, reported Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.
The prices of cars such as the Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Innova and Mazda CX5 are down by VND20 million-VND40 million each. Besides this, reductions of between VND80 million and VND300 million were seen among Audi, Subaru and Chevrolet cars. Some were even discounted by a staggering VND500 million.
This was the highest price cut recorded in the local automobile market during the year, said market watchers.
However, the price cuts are mainly seen among cars in the luxury segment. As such, not all car buyers can afford them, despite the steep discounts. Meanwhile, for cars priced below VND800 million, car buyers are being offered a price cut of a mere VND30 million per unit or accessories.
In previous years, car buyers had to wait a month or pay additional sums to take possession of a car. This year, the number of car buyers has remained modest.
“I haven’t sold a car in a month,” said a car salesman at an automobile showroom in the city’s Go Vap District.
Along the streets of Tran Hung Dao and An Duong Vuong in District 5 or Cong Hoa in Tan Binh District, which are home to many automobile showrooms, small automobile purchases were recorded, while the showrooms were packed with cars for sale.
Consumers are in no rush to purchase cars and may wait for deeper discounts from local dealers since the car supply is abundant, explained Nguyen Van Cong, director of Thanh Cong Auto Import-Export Company.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the number of imported and locally assembled cars skyrocketed in the January-November period, exceeding 400,000 vehicles, with the imported units seeing the highest rise.
Meanwhile, the volume of cars sold in the local automobile market is not higher than 300,000 units per year on average. Last year, automobile sales in the country reached some 288,000 vehicles, including passenger cars, commercial automobiles and special-use units.
