In December alone, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association’s sales stood at 35,00 units, a month-on-month reduction of 3%. The figures of domestically assembled and imported vehicles were over 17,600 and 17,600, down 6% and up 0.4%, respectively. The December drop followed a decrease of 0.5% posted in November. Explaining such downward trend in the year-end peak period of consumption, experts mentioned difficult access to banks’ loans and increasing interest rates that have forced many to delay their purchases. Apart from VAMA’s members, Vietnam’s automotive market also witnessed operations of other car manufacturers including Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan. However, they did not make public their sales figures. Other manufacturers, such as Hyundai, recorded combined sales of 81,500 units last year./.