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Before Tet holiday is always the time when many people bring their “beloved cars” for renovation and accessories upgrades. Even though the economy is relatively difficult this year, the demand for upgrades and renovations for cars still exists. This can be considered as the “golden” time for many shops and car garages.
Tight-packed garage, refusal to accept walk-in customers
Walking around the shops specializing in car renovation and accessory upgrades in Ho Chi Minh City, the reporter noticed a large number of cars coming to these shops, especially since mid-January.
At AK Auto car care store on Nguyen Huu Canh Street (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), most of the employees work tirelessly to complete the services for customers’ cars. The place is divided into 4 areas for car washing services, tinted film installation, accessory installation… all parking spaces are full. Vehicles arriving later have to park outside and wait for their turn.
“The number of customers coming to the store in the beginning of February 2024 was quite low, the store even had to actively contact regular customers to invite them to use the services. However, at the moment, it’s completely different, sometimes the store has to refuse walk-in customers because the number of cars at the store is too high,” Mr. Vinh (the director of AK Auto Binh Thanh branch) shared with Tri thuc – Znews.
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A large number of cars are being brought to car care and maintenance centers during the end of the year period. |
Car renovation services account for the majority of the store’s revenue during this period, most customers bring their cars to choose exterior/interior/engine compartment cleaning packages, surface treatment for paint… For new cars, customers often choose tinted film installation, PPF paint protection film to protect the original paint, as well as upgrade entertainment systems such as speakers, panoramic cameras…
Despite the high number of customers, the sales recorded in the end of the year period still did not reach the level of the same period last year. Mr. Vinh said: “Only this last month (lunar December – PV) has been somewhat stable, increasing by about 10% compared to the previous month. However, the overall sales for the end of the year period are still slow.”
Mr. Thanh Son (District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) said that this year, due to the difficult economic situation, he only took his 2022 Hyundai Creta for maintenance at the official service workshop in order to drive comfortably during Tet holiday. Additionally, he also took his car to an external service shop for basic car cleaning services.
“This year, due to financial constraints, I have to tighten my budget, my car is only over a year old, so I don’t need to polish or take care of it too meticulously, the accessories on the car are also sufficient,” Mr. Son shared.
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Many people are willing to spend millions to upgrade their cars. |
Alongside those who tighten their budget, there are also many customers willing to spend tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of dong to upgrade their beloved cars before Tet holiday.
Mr. Khoa Vu, the owner of Autobis car audio upgrade workshop, has just received 3 requests for audio upgrades with a total value of about 1.3 billion dong in just 2 days. This is considered as the most expensive group of orders at Mr. Vu’s service workshop during the end of the year months.
“The last two weeks of the year saved a few days for Tet,” Mr. Vu expressed his joy when asked about his business situation before Tet holiday. In order to increase the sales during this period, the shop also implements additional promotional programs such as upgrading speakers and giving away soundproofing film packages, giving accessories as gifts…
Significant changes in the car accessories industry
The changes in the motor vehicle inspection policy by the Vietnam Register during 2023 have had a considerable impact on the car accessories industry. In addition, the somewhat sluggish economic situation has also affected both distributors and consumers.
“2023 is the most difficult year for the Vietnam car accessories industry in the past 10-15 years,” Mr. Khoa Vu commented when asked about the business situation last year. “The difficult situation will continue until at least the third quarter of 2024, and it is hoped that by the fourth quarter of 2024, things will improve,” Mr. Vu predicted about this year’s business situation.
Sharing the same view with Mr. Vu, a representative of a car accessories distribution store in Tan Binh District commented that the buying and selling situation in 2023 was not optimistic. “The revenue in 2023 for the store only reached the same level as in 2022, with no growth. However, for the store, this result is also considered a success in the current context,” the representative shared.
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The trend of upgrading car lighting has significantly decreased in 2023 due to inspection issues. |
In addition to the decline in purchasing power, the demand for car accessories has also seen significant changes after the changes related to inspections. Upgrading lights, alloy wheels… are no longer trends, instead, customers are paying more attention to discreet upgrades focusing on the car’s interior environment.
“The main products of previous years such as lighting systems, accessories for pickup trucks have decreased by 70-80% in sales in 2023. Instead, the market has shifted towards the demand for upgrading Android screens, blind spot sensors, tinted film installation, soundproofing…” Mr. Khoa Vu shared.
Mr. Vinh believes that in 2024 and the near future, the car accessories market will focus more on products such as tinted film, paint protection film PPF… “This trend can be easily seen nowadays when Vietnamese consumers can choose from many different brands of tinted film and PPF film, the costs also vary to suit different customer groups.
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