In January, Vietnam imported nearly 4,000 cars worth US$106 million, up 14% month-on-month in volume but down nearly 49% in value.

The government’s decision to slash the registration fee for domestically-produced cars by 50% is set to further boost the sale of domestic cars in the two remaining quarters of this year.

Car sales number in Vietnam in the first seven months of this year dropped 28% year-on-year to 131,248 units across all segments.

The figure marked the first decline in car sales in four months, following month-on-month increases of 0.3% in July, 26.4% in June and 103% in May.

The plant, considered one of the most important projects of Hyundai, is invested with an estimated VND3.2 trillion (US$137.44 million) and able to produce 100,000 vehicles per year.