The Hanoitimes - Under the growing impacts of the pandemic, market demand is forecast to plunge, while oversupply and the burden of liquidating inventories would lead to lower selling prices. Automobiles in Vietnam are bracing for a tough year with combination effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and fierce competition within the industry, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC). Under the growing impacts of the pandemic, market demand is forecast to plunge, while oversupply and the burden of liquidating inventories would force car companies to lower selling prices, said the brokerage firm in its latest report. Revenues, therefore, will be strongly affected in the first half of the year but are expected to recover in the second half. Furthermore, companies have to spend more money on advertisements and discounts, in turn shrinking their respective gross profit margins (GPM) compared to the GPMs last year. As of the end of February, sales of members under the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) decreased by 26% to 31,908 units. In particular, sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles recorded a decline of 30% and 12% respectively, reaching 24,458 units and 7,073 units. Passenger car consumption fell largely due to the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the income and consuming behavior of buyers. In terms of commercial vehicles, the decline in sales volume may have come from some factors such as (1) the production and mining sectors were stagnant because of the pandemic, and (2) the downward trend since 2017 until now. In contrast, special-purpose vehicles increased by 24% to 377 units. So far in 2020, the number of domestically-assembled cars sold fell by 20% year-on-year to 21,296 units, while the sales of imported cars fell sharply by 38% to 12,107 units. Supply surges Meanwhile, the domestic supply is expected to increase rapidly. Specifically, …
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