Race between Japan and South Korea in the high ground urban SUV segment

Japanese cars have not yet completely dominated the urban SUV segment. Photo: Boi Ha.

A report from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) shows that in May, the total car sales in the Vietnamese market reached 20,726 units, a decrease of 8% compared to the previous month.

Of which, the passenger car sales in Vietnam reached 14,483 units, equivalent to an 8% decrease compared to the report in April.

Toyota Corolla Cross maintains the lead

In May, the overall sales of urban SUVs reached 2,479 units, a 22% decrease compared to the 3,178 units sold in the previous period. Among these, only Mazda CX-3 saw a slight increase in sales, while all other representatives sold less than in the first quarter.

In the May report, Toyota Vietnam announced that it successfully delivered 1,014 Corolla Cross vehicles to customers in Vietnam. Compared to the 1,310 units sold in April, the sales of this urban SUV imported from Thailand decreased by nearly 23%.

However, the sales achievement of over 1,000 units per month for 4 consecutive months still helps Toyota Corolla Cross maintain its leading position in the segment, while Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos achieved sales of 498 and 450 units respectively in the Vietnamese market in May.

Since the beginning of the year, the small SUV model of the Japanese brand has reached a sales figure of 5,741 units, creating a gap of 1,959 and 3,230 units compared to the two Korean competitors immediately behind.

Although it is still too early to draw any conclusions at this point, it can be tentatively assessed that the appeal of the Vietnamese market for the Toyota Corolla Cross has always been maintained at a relatively good level, despite the fact that this urban SUV model has had its listed price adjusted by an additional 9-19 million VND earlier in the year.

In the remaining group in the segment, after 2 consecutive months of increasing sales, Honda HR-V is now accepting its second decrease since the beginning of the year, similar to the general situation of the market. The Honda B-segment SUV achieved sales of 298 units in May, accumulating 1,342 units sold in the Vietnamese market since the beginning of 2023.

The duo Mazda CX-3 and CX-30 continue to be the slowest-selling names in the urban SUV segment in the Vietnamese car market. In May, the Mazda CX-3 achieved sales of 117 units, while the Mazda CX-30 had modest sales of 102 units.

Notably, the pair of small-size SUVs from Mazda, along with many co-branded models, have had their prices adjusted to benefit Vietnamese customers in June.

The Mazda CX-30 has yet to achieve good sales in the Vietnamese car market. Photo: Hoang Pham.

Specifically, the maximum price reduction for the Mazda CX-3 is 83 million VND for the 1.5 Premium version, while the versions of the Mazda CX-30 come with a price reduction of 50-60 million VND compared to the previous listed price.

As of the end of May, the accumulated sales of the Mazda CX-3 in the Vietnamese car market were 729 units, while the “big brother” Mazda CX-30 owned sales of 683 units in the same period.

Korean cars prevail in the small-sized SUV segment

After the arrival of the VF 5 Plus, the dual dominance in the A-segment SUV segment in Vietnam between the Kia Sonet and the Toyota Raize was broken. However, the Kia Sonet is still showing impressive sales compared to its segment peers, while the Toyota Raize continues to struggle with sales.

In May, the sales of the Toyota Raize reached only 441 units, a 13.4% decrease compared to the report in April. This sales record made the accumulated sales of the Toyota Raize in Vietnam since the beginning of the year reach only 2,629 units, and further widened the gap in sales compared to its direct competitor, the Kia Sonet.

Similar to recent reports, the Kia Sonet continues to be the best-selling model of the Kia brand in the Vietnamese car market in May. With sales of 866 units, the Kia Sonet’s sales grew by 43.4% compared to the previous report period.

Since the beginning of the year, the accumulated sales of the Kia Sonet have been 3,476 units, thus increasing the gap with the Toyota Raize to 847 units as the Vietnamese car market has just completed the closure of the May report.

Although still far from the difference in sales of 2,546 units recorded last year, the Toyota Raize could completely lose to the Kia Sonet once again if it fails to improve its regular sales in the remaining part of 2023.

In addition to the pressure from its old competitor Kia Sonet, the Toyota Raize is also starting to feel the heat from the newcomer VinFast VF 5 Plus in the second month of its existence in the Vietnamese car market.

In May, the sales of the VinFast small-sized electric SUV reached 332 units, or an increase of more than 9 times the figure of 36 units delivered to customers in Vietnam in the first month of the model debut.

VinFast VF 5 Plus had the best growth in the Vietnamese car market in May. Photo: Boi Ha.

Notably, the sales growth of more than 822% of the VinFast VF 5 Plus is also the best growth rate recorded in the Vietnamese car market in May.

Compared to the Kia Sonet (listed price ranging from 519-579 million VND) or the Toyota Raize (552-563 million VND), the listed price of the VinFast VF 5 Plus is considered more accessible, as it stops at 458 million VND without the battery and increases to 538 million VND if customers choose to purchase the battery pack for the car.

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