Reversing the Car Market in Vietnam: Top Car Brands to Watch

The Isuzu D-Max is one of the best-selling models in May. Photo: Isuzu.

In the latest sales report, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reported that the total sales of automobiles in Vietnam reached 20,726 units, a decrease of 8% compared to the previous month.

Most popular car brands in Vietnam witnessed a decline in sales, resulting in the total sales of passenger cars reaching 14,483 units in May, an 8% decrease. However, there are still some brands that managed to defy the trend and achieve growth in sales amidst the sluggish auto market.

Mitsubishi

Among Mitsubishi’s product line in Vietnam, only the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport experienced a decline in sales compared to the previous reporting period.

In particular, the 7-seater SUV of the Japanese brand recorded a sales volume of 21 units in May, a decrease of nearly 72% compared to the previous month.

The rest of Mitsubishi’s passenger car product line in Vietnam witnessed positive growth in May. The highest growth rate of nearly 45% was achieved by the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck, while the Mitsubishi Attrage recorded the lowest growth rate with a slight increase of 0.3% compared to the previous month.

The Mitsubishi Triton is the best performer among Mitsubishi’s passenger car product line in Vietnam. Photo: Bối Hạ.

As a result, Mitsubishi’s total sales in Vietnam reached 1,803 units in May, a 6.1% growth compared to the figures reported in the previous reporting period in April.

Currently, Mitsubishi is implementing a promotion offering up to 100% vehicle registration fee exemption and one year of comprehensive insurance for its entire product line in the Vietnamese market.

Among them, the highest discount is offered for the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, with customers in June eligible for a total value of VND 200 million in promotions.

Isuzu

Despite still having 2 models in the top 10 slowest-selling cars in the market, the sales of Isuzu vehicles in Vietnam have seen a slight increase compared to the previous reporting period.

The Isuzu mu-X sells better than the previous month, but the sales volume is still low. Photo: Toàn Thiện.

Specifically, the Isuzu mu-X recorded a sales volume of 19 units in May, an increase of 2 units compared to the previous month. In the same period, the Isuzu D-max achieved a sales volume of 25 units, equivalent to a growth rate of 31.6%.

In total, the 2 imported models from Thailand brought the Japanese car brand a total sales volume of 44 units in May. Compared to the previous reporting period, Isuzu’s sales increased by 22.2%, although it remains the slowest-selling brand in the Vietnamese auto market.

Kia

Despite having 7 models with declining sales and only 3 names with better sales than the previous month, Kia’s overall sales in Vietnam in May still saw a growth rate of 1.5%.

The increase of 39 units in May for Kia’s models was mainly attributed to the strong growth of models such as the Kia K5 and Kia Sonet.

The Kia K5 is the best-performing Kia model. Photo: Kia.

Specifically, the sales volume of the Kia Sonet reached 866 units in May, along with a nearly 60% growth rate for the Kia K5, helping offset the decline in sales of the Kia Sorento (31.3% decrease) and Kia Seltos (21.1% decrease).

In May, the total sales of Kia brand in Vietnam reached 2,695 units, making it one of the top 3 best-selling car brands in the market.

Mazda

In contrast to Kia, Mazda only had 2 models with declining sales in the May reporting period. Compared to the previous reporting period, the total sales of Mazda vehicles in Vietnam increased by nearly 6% to reach 2,311 units.

The Mazda CX-8, a large-size SUV, had the best growth rate in May with a 20% increase in sales compared to the previous reporting period. Meanwhile, although the Mazda CX-5 is the best-selling model of Mazda in Vietnam, its sales volume only increased by 12.2%.

The Mazda CX-8 has the best growth rate among Mazda’s product line in Vietnam in May. Photo: Mazda.

The Mazda BT-50 pickup truck and the Mazda CX-30 urban SUV were the only names with declining sales for the Japanese car brand in May. However, as these models typically do not achieve high sales volumes, the decline of the Mazda BT-50 or Mazda CX-30 did not significantly affect the overall performance of the brand in the Vietnamese auto market.

Suzuki

Suzuki is a special case in the Vietnamese auto market in May.

Looking solely at the sales volume of Suzuki’s passenger car group, the Japanese car brand recorded a sales volume of 311 units, 9 units lower than the sales volume in April.

The Suzuki Swift had the highest growth rate among Suzuki’s passenger cars in May, with a sales volume increase of 84.6% compared to the previous month. However, due to the fact that these models usually do not have regular high sales volumes in Vietnam, the growth of Suzuki Swift was not enough to make the sales of Suzuki’s passenger car group surpass the previous reporting period.

The Suzuki Swift had nearly 85% growth in sales in May. Photo: Suzuki.

The strength of the Suzuki brand in the Vietnamese market in May came from its commercial vehicle group, with all 3 models in this lineup experiencing strong growth in sales compared to the previous reporting period. Notably, the Suzuki Super Carry Pro achieved a sales volume of 1,179 units in the past month, equivalent to more than 14 times the sales volume recorded in April.

As a result, Suzuki’s total sales in Vietnam reached 1,769 units in May, nearly 400 units higher than the overall sales achieved in the previous reporting period.

Therefore, Suzuki remains one of the rare brands that have achieved growth in sales in May amidst the overall sluggish market conditions.