Automobile joint ventures in Vietnam posted total sales of 16,860 vehicles in the first four months of this year, nearly doubling that of the same period last year, according to a local industrial association on Friday.

In April alone, the country's automobile sales stood at 4,682 units, increasing 83 percent over last April, said the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Between January and April, Toyota Vietnam kept on holding the biggest local market share, with 4,850 units sold, a year-on-year rise of nearly 54 percent, followed by local bus and truck maker Truong Hai with 2,575 vehicles, up 92 percent.

The joint ventures, sole producers of cars and main makers of other kinds of automobiles in the country, sold 39,876 vehicles in 2006, down from 40,853 in 2005, said the association.

Vietnam with a population of over 83 million currently houses 13 automobile joint ventures with total registered capital of nearly 700 million U.S. dollars and combined annual capacity of 173,000 units.

Besides, the country has dozens of local enterprises specializing in producing automobile parts and assembling simple vehicles.