HANOI - Vietnam’s auto industry production and sales dropped sharply in April from the previous month, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday, suggesting sluggish demand for vehicles in the Southeast Asian country. Total vehicle sales in April dropped 25 percent from March to 22,409 units, data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) showed. Sales by VAMA member manufacturers tumbled 39 percent to 50,017 units in the January-April period from a year ago, while sales of imported cars declined 16 percent to 42,784 units, VAMA said. Total industry sales for passenger cars in the first four months of the year slumped 30 percent to 92,801 units year on year, of which commercial vehicle sales fell 9 percent, tourism vehicle sales dropped 35 percent and special-purpose vehicle sales slumped 58 percent. Experts said the sales decrease shows signs of demand slowing down. “The ongoing challenges on the stock market and real estate market have slowed sales of new cars,” Savico, the largest automobile distributor in Vietnam, told local media VnExpress. Vietnam’s stock market has experienced a major correction over the past year and the real estate market has become frozen by interest rate hikes and regulatory tightening. Vietnam’s Truong Hai Auto Corp, which assembles sedans, trucks and buses, led the sales over the past four months, followed by Toyota Motor Corp.