A Flood of Imported Cars Enter Vietnam: Which Country is the Top Supplier?

According to a report by the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance, in June, Vietnam imported a total of 18,811 completely built-up (CBU) automobiles of various types. The trade value of this group in the last report of the second quarter reached nearly 407 million USD.

Flood of Car Imports into Vietnam

Compared to June 2024, automobile imports into Vietnam decreased in both output and trade value.

However, if we look at the first six months of the year, the number of cars imported into the country increased by 38.3% compared to the same period last year. The trade value of imported cars in the first half also increased by 44.5% compared to the first six months of 2024.

Specifically, Vietnam spent a total of 2.232 billion USD to import 102,817 cars of all kinds since the beginning of the year. A report by the General Statistics Office showed that in the first half of 2024, this group recorded an output of 74,363 vehicles, with a trade value of 1.545 billion USD.

The surge in CBU car imports is also driven by the strong sales of this group in Vietnam.

A report from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) showed that as of the end of June, Vietnamese had bought a total of 85,902 imported cars. Therefore, import car sales also achieved a growth rate of 29% over the same period last year.

Assembled cars recorded sales of 77,119 units according to VAMA’s report, equivalent to a growth rate of 13%. If we only consider the data provided by this organization, the sales scale is gradually tilting more towards imported cars.

Does the Vietnamese Market Prefer Cars Imported from Indonesia?

A more detailed report from the Customs Department showed that as of the end of June, Indonesia once again surpassed Thailand to become the country that provided the most imported cars for the Vietnamese market.

A total of 39,111 cars manufactured in Indonesia completed customs procedures to enter Vietnam since the beginning of the year. This number is significantly higher than the number of cars originating from Thailand, which stood at 35,329 units during the same period.

The number of cars imported from China into Vietnam continued to record strong growth. If in the first half of 2024, Vietnam imported only 14,676 CBU cars of all kinds from China, then in the first six months of this year, this figure rose to 22,944 units.

Currently, China is also the third largest exporter of cars to Vietnam.

In the same period, Vietnam imported 2,053 CBU cars from Japan, with a trade value of more than 115.9 million USD. Japanese-sourced cars continue to lead in import value, reaching 56,473 USD/car in the first half of 2025.

Similarly, imported cars from the USA numbered only 175 for the year, but the total trade value was 7.85 million USD, equivalent to 44,864 USD/car, and belonged to the group with the highest value.

Japanese Imported Cars Lead in Import Value. Illustration: Phúc Hậu.

Meanwhile, the average import value of Indonesian cars is about 14,175 USD/car, and this figure for Thai-imported cars is 19,142 USD/car.

The list of best-selling cars in Vietnam in the first half also included many models imported from Indonesia and Thailand.

Of the total of 8,187 Mitsubishi Xpanders bought by Vietnamese, 6,207 were imported from Indonesia. This figure is equivalent to more than 75.8% of the total sales of this small MPV model.

The top-selling list also included the Toyota Yaris Cross imported from Indonesia, with sales of 5,420 units in the first six months. The Mitsubishi Xforce, although not selling as well as last year, still recorded sales of 4,575 units and is one of the representatives of Indonesian-imported cars.

Mitsubishi Xforce Falters in the Sales Race. Photo: Vĩnh Phúc.

The imported versions of the Ford Ranger from Thailand recorded sales of 1,431 units in the first six months. The Everest SUV model is also notable, with all versions being imported from Thailand, and sold 5,134 units to Vietnamese customers in the first half.

Will the Picture of Imported Cars Change?

As mentioned above, Indonesia and Thailand are still the leading countries in terms of the number of cars imported into Vietnam.

The policy of exempting taxes on goods produced in Southeast Asian countries is believed to be one of the reasons why Vietnam often welcomes a large number of car imports from these two countries.

Therefore, when the tariffs applied to cars produced in the USA are expected to be completely exempt, there may be fluctuations in the number of cars imported into Vietnam from that country.

Removing Tariff Barriers Could Open the Way for a Wave of US Car Imports. Photo: Ford.

Vietnamese customers seem to favor large SUVs and pickups from American brands such as Ford, Jeep, Ram, and Chevrolet. Japanese-branded cars sold to Americans, such as the Toyota RAV4, Toyota Highlander, or Honda Pilot, are also expected to enter Vietnam if the import tax on cars from the USA drops to 0%.

However, it is hard to believe that the picture of imported cars in Vietnam will change significantly if the tariff barriers with the USA are removed. Thailand and Indonesia still provide a large and stable supply of imported cars to the market.

Most of these are also popular car choices with affordable prices, so they are favored by Vietnamese customers, leading to import numbers that are not likely to fluctuate in the near future. In general, the imported car market in Vietnam will continue to rely on supply sources from Thailand and Indonesia in the coming time.

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