2018 was a successful year for Chinese car dealers. A businessman distributing Chinese cars in Hai Phong City said the sales were getting better. The company imported 300 Zotye Z8s last year, and most of them have sold. The sales of BAIC are fairly good, he said.

Vietnamese became less hesitant in the last year to buy Chinese cars. Baic and Zotye vehicles have become popular with local buyers. Zotye T300 SUV uses a Mitsubishi engine and looks similar to an Audi.

On auto forums, members say that Chinese cars have ‘modern and beautiful designs which look like European cars’, while some models are equipped with modern technologies. 

“You cannot expect a Chinese car to be perfect like a European car,” one commenter wrote. “Remember that you only have to pay VND700 million, including the registration tax, to own a car.”

Chinese car owners, however, are concerned about the car’s longevity. But they believe they can enjoy maintenance services and have car components replaced at low costs in Vietnam.

A car dealer in Hanoi noted that Chinese automobile manufacturers have made a big leap in technology. Five years ago, Chinese cars had serious problems in quality, but things have seriously improved.

Zotye plans to sell cars in the US by 2020, which also inspires confidence among local buyers.

Chinese manufacturers and Vietnamese dealers are trying every possible way to lure customers. “Customers can try cars before buying. We will commit to buy back cars at reasonable prices,” the car dealer said, adding that he mostly targets young customers and Chinese enterprises in Vietnam.

However, despite improved sales, only 1,000 out of 200,000 cars sold every year are from China. 

The majority of Vietnamese say they would rather buy second-hand cars made by Japanese, American and South Korean enterprises than brand-new Chinese cars.

CBU (complete built unit) imports from China bear the import tariff of over 50 percent. Automobiles, except 6-10 ton trucks, are not subject to tariff cuts under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). 

A Zotye Z8 or BAIC Q7 has the selling price of $22,000 in China and VND600-700 million in Vietnam.

“Chinese cars need to be half the cost of Japanese cars to sell well in Vietnam,” a car dealer in Hanoi said.

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Tran Thuy