Vietnam's car market goes into neutral

The automobile market in Vietnam has come to a standstill, and is expected to be dormant in the remaining months of this year, according to spokesmen for several Ho Chi Minh City car dealerships. Many blame the increase of registration fees for cars with less than 10 seats from 5% to 10-15% of the purchase price starting August 25. In the past two months, the volume of imported cars fell by 90% over the same period in 2007, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Office. (September 11, 2008)