New vehicle sales in Vietnam continued to fall sharply in October, by 17.5% to 20,156 from 24,441 units in the same month of last year, according to member data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
After several years of exceptionally strong growth the vehicle market has struggled to expand further despite improving economic indicators. Third quarter GDP growth is estimated at 7.5% year on year, up from a revised 6.3% in the second quarter, on stronger manufacturing output and exports.
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In the first 10 months of the year, total vehicle sales fell by 5.7% to 204,999 units from 217386 units in the same period of last year, with passenger vehicle sales 3.1% lower at 120,690 units and commercial vehicle sales down by 9.2% at 84,309 units.
Toyota was the leading brand in the first nine months of the year with sales rising by 8.2% to 48,299 units. Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Hyundai, and a significant player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 20.2% drop in group sales to 73,778 units.
Ford's sales were just slightly higher at 23,634 units in the nine month period, while Honda's sales increased by 21% to 10,767 units and GMs were up by 14% at 8,880 units.
