On 17/10/2017, the Government issued Decree 116/2017 / ND-CP regulating the conditions for production, assembly, import and business of automobile maintenance and warranty services (Decree 116 ). The objective and positive impact of this decree is to promote long-term investment in the development of the domestic automobile industry, to balance the supply of automobiles for assembly and import, to improve the quality of cars and automobiles. ensuring the interests of consumers ...

However, according to statistics released by the General Department of Customs, in the first 15 days of January 1/1818, the country only imported 60 cars of all types. Of those, 9 seats or less, only 6, the remaining 10 for 9 seats and 27 trucks. The total value of imported cars is only $ 5.6 million, contrary to the reality of the first 15 days of January, 2017, when the country imported up to 5,000 automobiles of all kinds with the value of nearly $ 116 million. In the past week, Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Honda have announced the suspension of import of cars to Vietnam because of the regulations in Decree 116.

The move came after Suzuki, Ford and Mitsubishi also stopped accepting orders for many models, boosting the sale of domestically-assembled cars. Some companies even have to cancel orders or ask dealers not to accept new orders unless there is a guarantee of supply.

The cause of the above situation comes from a number of reasons. Firstly, the implementation of Decree 116 with many new technical barriers will lead to higher import and inspection costs, leading to new (unused) imported cars being costly. the price of the car sold to customers after adding the charges, taxes will also increase.

For example, with the fifth generation Honda CR-V, which was launched in Vietnam on 13/11/2017, there were more than 2,000 orders, but Honda Vietnam has not been able to import this car yet. Import tax rate of 0%. However, to meet domestic demand, Honda Vietnam only dared to enter a limited number of 750 vehicles before January 1, 1818 and this car still subject to import tax for cars The unit is 30%.

Secondly, Decree 116 is issued and has a relatively fast effect, making enterprises unprepared for the transition period. Because of that, the car industry is characterized by long ordering times (even up to 6-9 months for highly customizable models). This fact leads to the case that the car was ordered, produced before the date of issuance of the Decree but can not be imported to Vietnam. Thus, despite the fact that all 17 of Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) have been operating in the field of automobiles for the last 20 years in both manufacturing and assembly sectors, But the sudden change made them not adjust the balance plan between the two patches.