The Vietnamese Auto Market Receives a Boost with Pre-Registration Fee Benefits

The latest report from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reveals a 6% month-over-month growth in the total market sales for May, with a total of 25,794 units sold. This includes 11,985 domestically assembled vehicles and 13,809 completely built-up (CBU) imported cars. This performance is a 24% improvement compared to the same period last year.

Mitsubishi Xpander Maintains its Reign

After a slight dip in sales during February, the Mitsubishi Xpander has consistently topped the sales charts for three consecutive months. In May, this best-selling model achieved a sales figure of 1,766 units, creating a significant gap of nearly 290 vehicles over its closest competitor, the Ford Ranger (1,477 units).

Familiar names in the top 10 best-selling vehicles include the Hyundai Accent (924 units), Toyota Yaris Cross (902 units), Mazda CX-5 (892 units), Ford Everest (811 units), and Toyota Vios (766 units). The Mitsubishi Xforce, a new entrant, continues its impressive performance in the Vietnamese market with 802 units sold, ranking 8th in overall sales.

Mitsubishi Xpander Leads, Toyota Corolla Cross Experiences Shocking Growth
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars in Vietnam for May 2023 – Data from VAMA and TC Motor
Brand	Mitsubishi Xpander	Ford Ranger	Toyota Corolla Cross	Hyundai Accent	Toyota Yaris Cross	Mazda CX-5	Ford Everest	Mitsubishi Xforce	Toyota Vios	Toyota Veloz Cross
	Units Sold	1766	1477	996	924	902	892	811	802	766	604

Toyota Corolla Cross witnessed an astonishing sales growth of over 71 times in May, with 996 units sold, becoming the third best-selling model in the market, following the Mitsubishi Xpander and Ford Ranger. This impressive performance can be attributed to the launch of the new generation Corolla Cross, which is priced more attractively between 820 and 905 million VND, making it more accessible than its previous generations.

Another surprising entrant in the top 10 best-selling vehicles in Vietnam for May is the Toyota Veloz Cross, a small MPV from Toyota, with 604 units sold, representing a 15% growth compared to the previous month.

Remarkable Comebacks

Besides the shocking sales growth of the Toyota Corolla Cross, the Vietnamese market also witnessed the comeback of the Hyundai Stargazer and Toyota Hilux in May.

Both the Hyundai Stargazer and Toyota Hilux had previously experienced consecutive months of zero sales in Vietnam. However, similar to the Corolla Cross, the introduction of new generations of these models brought them back into the game. In May, the Hyundai Stargazer, a budget-friendly MPV from South Korea, sold 444 units, while the Toyota Hilux, a mid-sized pickup truck, achieved sales of 308 units.

Corolla Cross, Hilux, and Stargazer Impress with Significant Growth
Best-Performing Cars in Vietnam for May 2023 in Terms of Sales Growth – Data from VAMA and TC Motor
Brand	Toyota Corolla Cross	Hyundai Stargazer	Toyota Hilux	Mitsubishi Outlander	Mazda6	Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
May 2023 Sales	Units Sold	996	444	308	139	78	68
April 2023 Sales		14	0	0	62	32	25

The market also saw several models more than double their sales from the previous month, including the Suzuki Ciaz (3 units, up 200%), Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (68 units, up 172%), Toyota Alphard (19 units, up 171%), Mazda6 (78 units, up 144%), and Mitsubishi Outlander with 139 units sold, representing a 124% increase compared to April.

On the other hand, the Honda CR-V and Honda HR-V experienced significant sales declines in May. The Honda CR-V, a C-sized SUV, sold 317 units, while the Honda HR-V found 107 buyers during the same period.

The Suzuki Jimny concluded May with 3 units sold (down 44 units from the previous month), while the Suzuki XL7 witnessed a sharp drop in sales, delivering only 15 units to Vietnamese customers. This significant decrease in XL7 sales could be attributed to the anticipation of the upcoming launch of the hybrid version of this small MPV in Vietnam.

Imported Cars Continue their Winning Streak

For the second consecutive month, imported CBU vehicles outperformed domestically assembled CKD cars in the Vietnamese market. According to VAMA’s report, 13,809 imported cars were delivered to customers, outpacing the sales of CKD vehicles by 1,824 units (11,985 units sold).

This trend mirrors what was observed in June and July of 2022 and marks another rare occasion where imported cars have gained more traction among Vietnamese customers than their locally assembled counterparts.

As mentioned in our previous article, the shift in the CKD-CBU balance in recent months can be attributed to the growing preference for imported vehicles among Vietnamese consumers.

The top 10 best-selling cars in May included several completely imported models, such as the Toyota Yaris Cross, Mitsubishi Xforce (from Indonesia), and the Ford Everest and Toyota Corolla Cross, both originating from Thailand.

The Toyota Yaris Cross is among the best-selling cars in the Vietnamese market. Image source: TMV.

Additionally, the top two best-selling models, the Mitsubishi Xpander and Ford Ranger, also include imported units in their sales figures. Notably, out of the 1,766 Xpander units sold in May, 1,629 were imported from Indonesia.

Despite the upcoming preferential registration fee policy for domestically assembled cars expected to take effect next month, the sales momentum is predicted to remain in favor of CBU vehicles.

Currently, popular locally assembled models like the Hyundai Accent, Toyota Vios, and Mazda CX-5 are struggling to regain their growth trajectory, while imported cars such as the Toyota Corolla Cross, Mitsubishi Xforce, Toyota Yaris Cross, Mitsubishi Xpander, and Ford Ranger maintain stable and strong sales performances in the Vietnamese market.