First Rolls-Royce to come to Vietnam?

I wonder who ordered it. Must be pretty big news to make it to the headlines.

VietNamNet Bridge– The director of a car import company has revealed that a brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan worth VND18bil ($1.12mil) will leave the UK for Vietnam.

The director has declined to give the name of the car buyer. He just said that a Rolls-Royce would be imported under the form of brand new complete built unit (CBU) and through official channels.

Since being bought by BMW in 2003, Rolls-Royce has launched three models: the Phantom sedan, 101EX and Drophead coupe.

In early 2007, the British automobile manufacturer commemorated the 3,000th sold Phantom.

The Phantom is a four-door sedan, equipped with a standardised V12 engine, the cylinder capacity of 6.75L and 453 horse power. The price quoted on Yahoo is $328,750 for the one manufactured in 2006, or cheaper than the Maybach 57 manufactured in the same year, which is selling at $335,250, or the Maybach 62, selling at $385,250.

However, the two brand names, Maybach and Rolls-Royce, have the same rank, although Rolls-Royce sometimes is favoured thanks to its long history, which is attached to the British royal.

According to current regulations, as of January 11, imported brand new cars are assessed three kinds of tax: 80% import tax, 50% luxury tax and 10% value added tax (VAT).

As such, a Phantom is priced at $1,086,387 after tax, or more than VND18bil (the exchange rate announced on April 2).

The actual price of the car which will arrive in Vietnam in some days may be lower or higher than the above figure, depending on the interior equipment requested by the customer.

The VAT sum alone which the Phantom buyer has to pay may reach $98,700, high enough to buy a Lexus GX 470 manufactured in 2004.

The appearance of Rolls-Royce is expected to create a ‘seism’ in Vietnam’s market, and stir up the market more strongly than the import of the Maybach 62 several months ago.