Automakers in Vietnam sold a total of 35,264 vehicles in 2005, down 13.8 percent against 2004, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association ( VAMA) on Thursday.

The smaller sales were partly attributed to changes in Vietnam's tax policies and wait-and-see attitude adopted by potential car buyers, the VAMA said, noting that the local automobile market could go down further in 2006.

On Jan. 1, Vietnam imposed import tariff of 90 percent on many kinds of automobiles designated for transporting people, instead of the previous rate of 100 percent. Earlier, it adjusted corporate income taxes and special consumption taxes applicable to automakers.

Vietnam spent nearly 1.1 billion U.S. dollars importing 17,000 completely-built automobiles and different components for assembly in 2005, posting a year-on-year increase of 19.3 percent in total import value, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

Now, every 145 local people have a car in Vietnam, which has a population of over 83 million, and 13 automobile joint ventures with a total registered capital of nearly 700 million dollars and combined annual capacity of 173,000 units, the VAMA said.

Source: Xinhua