New vehicle sales in Vietnam surged by 33% to 32,033 units in September 2024 from 23,933 units a year earlier, according to wholesale data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA). The data do not include sales by Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Tesla and Nissan and a growing number of Chinese brands that have entered the market in the last two years, as well as domestic electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast.
The market expanded for the sixth consecutive month in September from very weak year-earlier levels, after eighteen months of almost incessant declines. Heavy discounting by dealers helped support the market last month, as did the 50% vehicle registration tax discount introduced by the government in September and effective for three months.
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Third-quarter GDP growth came in at 7.4% year-on-year, up from 6.9% in the second quarter, driven by strong industrial output and exports – despite a series of powerful typhoons hitting the country in the last two months causing widespread damage and flooding.
VAMA’s member data shows the market expanded by 2% to 193,854 units in the first nine month of 2024 from 190,130 a year earlier, including a 1% decline in passenger vehicle sales to 142,910 units while commercial vehicle sales increased by 12% to 50,944 units.
Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of several overseas brands and a major player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 10% drop in group sales to 60,546 units year-to-date. This includes an 18% drop in Kia sales to 22,948 units and an 11% fall in Mazda sales to 21,274 units, while sales of Thaco commercial vehicle increased by 6% to 12,858 units.
Toyota’s nine-month volumes increased by 5% at 40,503 units, with sales of the Hilux pickup truck being stepped up in recent months. Ford, saw its sales rise by 6% to 28,038 units – underpinned by the popular Ranger, Everest and Transit models; while Mitsubishi’s sales increased by 29% to 27,933 units – lifted by the launch of the XForce SUV at the beginning of the year; followed by Honda with 17,654 units (+17%); and Suzuki with 7,985 units (-26%).
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By GlobalDataThe latest data released by Hyundai’s local distributor showed 34,389 vehicles were sold under the South Korean brand in the first eight months of 2024. VinFast said its global sales increased by 92% year-on-year to 21,747 units in the first half of 2024 and confirmed it is targeting 80,000 sales over the full year – in a growing number of markets in South-east Asia and the Middle-East as well as in the US.
The Vietnamese government confirmed it will keep the registration tax for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at 0% until 2026 while the special consumption tax will be kept at between 1% and 3%, as part of a broader package of incentives aimed at attracting BEV sector investment into the country – including cuts in import duties on components and charging equipment.
Geely last month announced plans to build an assembly plant in partnership with local distributor Tasco Auto. The 75,000 unit/year facility will produce new energy vehicles for sale locally and for export to other markets in the region.
