Toyota opens second Lexus dealer in Vietnam

The dealer, to serve the northern region of the country, has the total investment of VND160 billion ($8 million). Located in Nam Tu Liem district of Hanoi, it sells six Lexus models namely LS 460L, GS 350, ES 350, LX 570, RX 350 and GX 460 and services Lexus cars including those not sold by the two official dealers.

Since Toyota Vietnam officially launched the Lexus brand in Vietnam in December 2013 with the opening of the first dealer in Ho Chi Minh City, the firm has sold 385 cars, 45 per cent of which to customers in the north and south of Vietnam each, and 10 per cent to those from the central region.

Imported luxury cars are subject to a very high tax rate of as much as 60 per cent in Vietnam, greatly inflating their prices. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said it was considering raising this rate to as much as 195 per cent depending on cylinder capacity. The high tax rate is meant to restrict imports and nurture the development of the domestic car manufacturing sector.

Regarding the concern of how the Lexus brand would cope with this situation, Yoshihisa Maruta, Toyota Vietnam’s director, said Toyota, which currently imports all its Lexus cars, would not have a sales target for Lexus in Vietnam in the short term. He also said he hoped the government would have a long-term tax policy and a carefully planned out roadmap for any tax change in order not to negatively affect firms and customers.

Vietnam has become one of the hottest luxury car markets targeted by car manufacturers. Luxury car manufacturers including Bentley, Lamborghini, Mercedes Benz and BMW have opened showrooms in the country and been introducing some of their most expensive models here.