VietNamNet Bridge – While other industrial businesses complain about the big inventories, car dealers seem to be unhurt by economic difficulties, seeing the car sales increase steadily.

The sales of the cars bearing three luxurious European brands were reportedly very good in January, 2013, though they are priced at between VND1.3 billion and VND5 billion.

Prior to that, in 2012, despite the economic downturn, the luxurious car sales still witnessed considerably high growth. A German brand reported the growth rate of 30 percent in the year. Another German brand reported the growth rate of 23 percent in 2012.

Meanwhile, a source said that the sales could have been even higher, if car dealers had had enough cars for sale. The problem was that they thought the sales would be low in 2012 and cut down the imports. As a result, the supply was short to satisfy the demand, while in some cases customers had to wait one month to get deliveries.

Despite the higher import tariffs, higher car sales and higher vehicle registration ownership tax, which have forced car owners to pay nearly 100 million dong more, the luxurious cars priced at VND5-7 billion still have been selling like hot cakes.

Especially, the car sales did not decrease in the north, especially in Hanoi, even though the vehicle ownership registration tax increased by 20 percent in the year.

Explaining the steady growth of luxurious car sales, analysts said that the economic recession has in no way hurt the rich, the targeted clients of luxurious car dealers. The demand for luxurious cars always remains very high, while the number of luxurious cars, though having been increasing rapidly, just accounts for a small percentage.

About 2,200 luxurious cars were sold in Vietnam in 2012, mostly the products of the brands from Europe and the US. Luxurious cars keep inflowing to Vietnam despite the Circular No. 20 which tightens the control over car imports. Instead of arriving in Vietnam through the official channel, luxurious cars have been imported as the assets of Viet Kieu repatriates or other channels.

Luxurious brands still can see great opportunities in the Vietnamese market, the poor country with the average income per capital at $1,200 per annum.

Not only targeting the rich individual clients, luxurious car dealers also target five-star hotels and resorts which have been arisen in Vietnam. These are the potential big clients, who need luxurious cars to carry the high income travelers who come to Vietnam to relax. A report showed that the sales of luxurious cars to the group of clients accounts for 10 percent of the total car sales, but the figure would increase rapidly.

The profitable businesses with high growth rates could also be the potential clients. They tend to use branded luxurious cars, believing that this is a good way to do business.

Car dealers and authorized distributors in Vietnam have affirmed that they can provide enough luxurious cars to satisfy the demand in Vietnam. They said they would set up more sales agents in Hanoi, HCM City and Hai Phong and Da nang, anticipating the rising demand for luxurious cars.

Observers said the Vietnamese market in the time to come would see the appearance of more branded products from the US which comes to Vietnam through official channels. Analysts have forecast that the luxurious car sales may reach 10,000 cars after 2015.

Tran Thuy