Oxford, UK -- Car sales in the Asean trading area in August were 201,000 units. This is a rise of 6% compared with the same month last year.
Looking at the year-to-date numbers, sales were 1.6m units across the trading block. That is according to LMC Automotive, which supplied the figures.
Vietnam was the only nation in the trading bloc to see an increase in sales. They rose by 8.0% in August 2019, compared with August 2018.
'A buoyant economy and higher demand for imports' drove demand, said LMC Automotive. Vietnamese year-to-date sales were 194 ,000 units in August 2019 This is up by 36.0% compared with the same month last year.
But, the consultants have a warning for the year as a whole. 'Rising global uncertainty and the widening US-Vietnam trade deficit led us to cut the Vietnamese sales outlook to 370,000.' LMC Automotive predicts that the country could buy around 389,000 units in 2020.
Indonesian sales fell by 13.0% in August 2019, compared with the same month 2018. The weak economy in Indonesia is suffering from 'sluggish exports and private investment,' said the consultants. The second-hand car market is 'booming.' Total sales in 2019 should be about 897,000 units this year
Meanwhile, sales in Malaysia shrank by 16.0% in August 2019, compared with August 2018.