The Vietnamese automobile sector saw signs of recovery in July, with increasing sales of both domestically assembled and imported automobiles, according to the Vietnam Association of Automobile Manufacturers (VAMA) on Monday.

Total sales of automobiles nationwide in July increased 15 percent with 7,433 units, over 6,555 units in the previous month.

Of the total figures, the number of small automobiles (tourist, multi-functional) rose by 21 percent, with 2,729 units, and trucks up 10 percent with 4,704 units. There were 6,263 domestically assembled automobiles sold during the month, with an increase of 14 percent, and 1,170 imported units, up 9 percent, reported VAMA.

Twelve out of 18 auto companies having products available in the market made a rapid growth in July. Taking the lead was the Vietnam Motor Industry Corporation (VMC) with a monthly growth of 656 percent, followed by the Vinastar with 172 percent, GM Vietnam Motor Company (GM VN) with 80 percent, Visuko with 61 percent, Honda with 50 percent and Vinamotor with 39 percent.

Although with a growth of only 6 percent in July, the Truong Hai Auto Group still took the lead in term of the auto sales, with 1,997 units in July, and 13,152 units in the first seven months of this year, followed by Toyota with 1,727 units (up 4 percent) and 12,084 units, respectively.

However, the total sales of domestically-assembled and imported automobiles sold in the first seven months of this year decreased 39 percent year-on-year, with 50,361 units sold.

Sales in March this year made the highest record, with 9,156 automobiles sold out, according to VAMA.

To increase the sales turnover in the coming months, domestic auto companies have applied various promotion programs, including cooperation with the banks to lower the interest rate of loans for their clients, introduction of new auto brands to renew the market and reduction of services fees.

With such signs of recovery in the recent three months, especially in July, in addition to diverse promotion efforts by auto companies, the sector's total sales are expected to reach 93, 000 units in 2012, an increase of 16 percent year-on-year, VAMA President Laurent Charpentier told local media on Monday.