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Suzuki Ciaz ranks consistently as one of the slowest-selling cars in the Vietnamese market. Photo: Vinh Phuc. |
In the previous year, Suzuki Ciaz sold a total of 55 cars, securing the third spot on the list of the slowest-selling cars in the Vietnamese market. Out of those, the B-segment imported sedan from Thailand had zero sales in the first four months of the year, before reaching its peak in November with only 15 units sold.
Declining Sales
A year ago, Suzuki Ciaz achieved sales of 326 cars by the end of 2021. However, the final month of the year saw a significant drop in sales for this B-segment sedan after Vietnam Suzuki announced the suspension of Ciaz distribution in preparation for the launch of a new version.
This decision resulted in Suzuki Ciaz’s sales in December 2021 being on par with some of the slowest-selling cars in the Vietnamese market at that time, such as Toyota Granvia, Ford Explorer, and Toyota Avanza Premio.
To make matters worse, the zero sales continued until the end of April 2022, only slightly increasing to 5 units after the launch of the new generation Suzuki Ciaz.
The slow start and low sales throughout the remaining period led to Suzuki Ciaz ending 2022 with sales of merely 55 cars.
| Suzuki Ciaz sales witness a free fall | ||||
| Suzuki Ciaz sales from 2021-2023 (Data: VAMA) | ||||
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | First four months of 2023 | |
| Suzuki Ciaz sales | Cars | 326 | 55 | 11 |
As the auto market transitioned into 2023, Suzuki Ciaz continued to struggle with improving sales and spent numerous months as the slowest-selling car in the market. During the first four months of the year, Suzuki Ciaz only relinquished this title once to the Honda Accord, as the latter model achieved a sale of only one unit, while the sales of the Suzuki B-segment sedan remained at 2 units, as reported in the previous period.
Therefore, despite consecutive sales growth in two reporting periods, the best sales that Suzuki Ciaz has achieved in 2023 so far is merely 4 units. After closing the first quarter’s report, Suzuki Ciaz achieved a total of 11 units sold, equivalent to a monthly sales average of less than 3 units in the Vietnamese market.
Reasons
In the Vietnamese market, Suzuki Ciaz is only available in an automatic version introduced by Vietnam Suzuki, with a price of 535 million VND.
Comparatively, this price is relatively high when compared to the average price of B-segment sedans in Vietnam. Furthermore, the current listed price of 535 million VND for the Suzuki Ciaz is also 6 million VND higher than the previous generation.
| Suzuki Ciaz faces challenges with its listed price in the Vietnamese market | ||||||||
| Price comparison between Suzuki Ciaz and other models in the same segment | ||||||||
| Model | Suzuki Ciaz | Hyundai Accent | Honda City | Toyota Vios | Mitsubishi Attrage | Kia Soluto | Mazda2 | |
| Lowest price | Million VND | 0 | 426 | 529 | 479 | 380 | 409 | 479 |
| Highest price | 535 | 542 | 599 | 592 | 490 | 489 | 619 |
Compared to other models in the same segment, Suzuki Ciaz is priced higher than the G version of Honda City, slightly higher than the Special AT version of Hyundai Accent, and lower than the Standard version of Mazda2. Even with the newly launched Toyota Vios 2023, the 2 E versions of the “sales king” in 2022 are more accessible than the listed price of 535 million VND for Suzuki Ciaz.
Furthermore, the aforementioned listed price for Suzuki Ciaz is comparable to neighboring segments, such as A-segment SUVs or subcompact MPVs. These segments have strong models in the Vietnamese auto market, like the Mitsubishi Xpander (555-698 million VND) or the Kia Sonet (524-624 million VND).
On the other hand, the fact that Suzuki Ciaz is only available in an automatic version also limits its market accessibility in Vietnam.
Due to these factors, Suzuki Ciaz faces challenges in becoming an ideal choice for customers looking to purchase cars for transportation services. When looking at popular names in the service car market, such as the Mitsubishi Attrage, Toyota Vios, Hyundai Accent, Kia Soluto, Kia Morning, or Hyundai Grand i10, their common feature is the availability of manual transmission versions at affordable prices.
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Suzuki Ciaz is only available in an automatic version in Vietnam. Photo: Vinh Phuc. |
The powertrain is also one of the weaknesses of Suzuki Ciaz in the Vietnamese auto market. Currently, in the B-segment sedan segment, only Ciaz, along with Kia Soluto and Mitsubishi Attrage, are equipped with engines with a displacement of less than 1.5L.
Among them, only the Mitsubishi Attrage achieves relatively stable sales compared to the overall market in Vietnam. Suzuki Ciaz and Kia Soluto, on the other hand, face difficulties in finding a solid position.
Considering the reasons mentioned above, Suzuki Ciaz has become a familiar name on the list of slowest-selling cars, and a relatively uncommon model on Vietnamese roads.
What Lies Ahead for Suzuki Ciaz
Aside from the challenges faced in the Vietnamese market, Suzuki Ciaz is also not a popular model in Thailand, where the small-sized sedan is produced.
According to data published by ChinaMobil, Suzuki Ciaz sales in Thailand in 2022 reached 1,724 units, averaging more than 143 units per month. In 2021, this B-segment sedan achieved sales of up to 2,505 units in the Thai auto market.
Looking back at 2022, the Vietnamese auto market witnessed several models with poor sales for many consecutive months before being officially discontinued by the manufacturers due to various reasons. Some notable names in this case include Toyota Rush, Ford EcoSport, Toyota Wigo, Toyota Hilux, and Honda Brio.
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Suzuki Celerio was discontinued in Vietnam due to low sales. Photo: Chi Vu. |
It remains unclear whether Vietnam Suzuki will take similar action for Suzuki Ciaz in the current unfavorable business situation. Previously, Suzuki Ertiga was also discontinued to make way for the hybrid engine-equipped version of the compact MPV.
In the past, Suzuki also confirmed the discontinuation of Suzuki Celerio in the Vietnamese market. The reason given was the weak competitiveness, as the sales of Celerio could not be compared to other names in the segment, such as Hyundai Grand i10 or Kia Morning.
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