The Month When Vietnam’s Auto Market Hit Rock Bottom

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association’s (VAMA) latest report shows that in February, the total sales of autos in Vietnam was 11,633 units, including 8,099 passenger cars, 4,478 commercial vehicles and 56 specialized vehicles.

Compared to the beginning of the year, sales of the whole market continued to decline with a 40% decrease. If compared with the same period last year, Vietnam’s car sales were also 50% lower.

‘1,000 unit list’ blanks out

In the beginning of the year, despite a significant decline in market demand, Mitsubishi Xpander and Ford Ranger were still rare bright spots when they achieved sales of over 1,000 units. Specifically, Mitsubishi Xpander led the whole market in January with sales of 1,285 units, while Ford Ranger ranked right behind with 1,143 units sold.

After a month, the “1,000-unit list” no longer included any passenger car models. Ford Ranger, despite having the highest sales in February, could only reach 880 units. Similarly, Mitsubishi Xpander, although ranking second in the market, still had sales that stopped at 641 units.

Honda City returned to the top sales group with sales of 640 units in February, while Mazda CX-5 (sales of 600 units) and Kia Sonet (428 units) were the last names in the top 5 best-selling cars in the Vietnamese car market.

Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Xpander continued to be the best-sellers in the month
Sales of the 10 best-selling car models in the Vietnamese market in February (Data: VAMA, TC Motor)
Brand	Ford Ranger	Mitsubishi Xpander	Honda City	Mazda CX-5	Kia Sonet	Hyundai Accent	Ford Everest	Honda HR-V	Kia Carnival	Hyundai Grand i10
	units	880	641	640	600	428	365	351	282	268	263

Overall, lower demand caused sales of almost all passenger cars in the Vietnamese market to decline during the Lunar New Year month.

This was expected by automakers, as Vietnamese customers tend not to buy cars in February. If they do have a need, most customers have already made their purchases in January to meet their travel needs during Tet.

For the first time this year, Toyota Vios fell out of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in the market. The B-segment sedan, which held the top sales position two years ago, ended the month with a sales volume of 170 units, equivalent to a 74% decrease compared to the 653 units recorded in January.

The remaining names in the top 10 best-selling cars include Hyundai Accent (365 units), Ford Everest (351 units), Honda HR-V (282 units), Kia Carnival (268 units), and Hyundai Grand i10 with sales of 263 units in February.

Rare bright spots

In general, sales declines in February affected almost all popular passenger car models in the Vietnamese market.

Some models recorded zero sales in the first month, such as Mazda BT-50, Honda Civic Type R and Suzuki Ciaz, but there were also some models that had not sold any cars in the Vietnamese market for two consecutive months, such as Toyota Land Prado, Toyota Hilux and to some extent, Suzuki Jimny. Note that Suzuki Jimny is included in VAMA’s sales statistics but has not yet been officially delivered to Vietnamese customers.

However, amidst the relatively gloomy overall picture of Vietnam’s auto market, there are still quite a few bright spots, with some even surprising with quite good sales growth in the month.

Mazda CX-30 recorded sales of 78 units, equivalent to a growth of nearly 189%, making it the model with the best sales growth in the Vietnamese auto market. Toyota Wigo (146 units), Honda Accord (12 units) and even Toyota Land Cruiser (19 units) were also names that unexpectedly increased sales in February.

Mazda CX-30 with the best growth in Vietnamese car market in February. Photo: Boi Ha.

With Honda City, a 32.8% increase in sales helped the B-segment sedan return to the top 3 best-selling cars of the month. The relatively good sales also helped Honda City reclaim the title of Honda’s best-selling car in the Vietnamese market, which Honda HR-V unexpectedly held in the first month of the year.

Overall, the 8 car models with positive sales growth were a very small proportion, not enough to lift the Vietnamese auto market after a rather slow start.

However, these rare bright spots can still be seen as optimistic signals, leading the Vietnamese car market towards a recovery that is expected to take place in the next few months.