UPDATE 1-Ford says its Vietnam Q1 car sales more than double

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By Ho Binh Minh

HANOI, April 1 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said its sales in Vietnam more than doubled in the first quarter but warned an economic slowdown could affect the country's car industry in the second half of the year.

Ford, which competes against Toyota (7203.T), GM Daewoo (GM.N) and Honda in Vietnam, sold more than 2,200 vehicles in the first three months, a record for the first quarter, Michael Pease, Ford Vietnam General Director, told a news conference.

Precise first quarter numbers were not yet available.

"We remain very confident in the first half performance of the industry in Vietnam," Pease said. "In the first two months of the year we saw very strong year-on-year growth and we are confident this growth will continue in the second quarter."

Ford Vietnam, established in 1995 at an investment of $100 million, sold 1,345 cars in January and February, from 713 units in the first two months of 2007, while sales of the entire industry nearly tripled to 21,004 cars, industry reports said.

Ford also announced on Tuesday a $10 million investment at its plant in the northern province of Hai Duong, 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Hanoi, to boost production capacity by 35 percent.

Vietnam's economic growth in the first quarter slowed to 7.43 percent from 7.73 percent a year ago and the government has cut its full-year growth target to 7.5 percent from initial goal of 8.5-9 percent [ID:nHAN197542].

"For the second half of the year the economic outlook is a little less clear," Pease said.

"As we look at global indicators and also government actions to address inflation and the trade balance, there may be some slowdown in the industry," he said.

He did not give a figure forecast for the annual growth of the industry which saw sales nearly doubling last year to 80,392 cars as many consumers switched from motorcycles, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association figures show.

"However overall we see 2008 growing and we remain very confident in the medium and long-term outlook of the Vietnam auto industry," Pease said. (Editing by Lincoln Feast)