People’s MPV – Xpander remains at the top, Suzuki surpasses Toyota

Mitsubishi Xpander is currently the second best-selling car model in the entire market. Photo: Vĩnh Phúc.

The latest report from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) shows that in February, the total sales volume in the Vietnamese market was 11,633 vehicles. Of which, the group of passenger cars had sales of 8,099 vehicles, a decrease of 45% compared to the sales figures recorded in the first reporting period of the year.

MPV purchasing power decreased by more than half

If in the first month of the year, the total sales of the entire affordable MPV segment in Vietnam reached 3,249 vehicles, then in February, the above consumption decreased by more than half.

Specifically, the total sales of 8 car models in the small MPV segment in February reached 1,512 vehicles, lower than 1,737 vehicles compared to the first month of the year and equivalent to a decrease of nearly 54%.

Among them, Mitsubishi Xpander is still the best-selling model in the segment despite losing more than 50% of its sales. The Japanese automaker said it has successfully delivered 641 Xpander vehicles to Vietnamese customers in February, including 55 domestically assembled vehicles and 586 imported completely built-up units from Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Toyota Veloz Cross – Xpander’s familiar rival on the sales track – seems to be off to a difficult start with sales stopping at 146 vehicles in February. In the previous reporting period, Toyota’s small MPV also only had sales of 253 vehicles, ranking behind both Honda BR-V and Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid in terms of consumption.

In contrast to the Toyota Corolla Cross, the Suzuki XL7 unexpectedly shined in the early part of the year when it was temporarily the second best-selling affordable MPV in the entire market. This achievement can be seen as an impressive comeback for the Suzuki XL7 because last year, the XL7’s consumption even ranked below the “newbie” Honda BR-V or Korean rivals such as the Kia Carens and Hyundai Stargazer.

The Kia Carens is also off to a relatively good start in the early part of the year. The MPV model with an SUV look from the Kia brand sold 201 vehicles in February, bringing the total sales in the year to date to 505 vehicles, the third best in the segment.

Imported cars face difficulties, hybrid cars also decline in sales

As one of the 2 models with the highest sales decline in the affordable MPV segment, Honda BR-V’s sales in the Vietnamese market in February stopped at 127 vehicles, a number just enough for the MPV imported from Indonesia to rank above the Toyota Avanza Premio (85 vehicles).

The Hyundai Stargazer – the only imported car model of the Hyundai brand at the present time – is also facing a not-so-smooth start. The Stargazer’s monthly sales since the beginning of the year have always been below 100 vehicles, making this MPV model the slowest-selling name in the segment for the time being.

Currently, many Hyundai dealers in Vietnam said that they have started receiving deposits for the Hyundai Stargazer X and will deliver the car in the second quarter. This is likely one of the reasons why the Stargazer has failed to impress in the Vietnamese car market in the early stages of the year.

The Hyundai Stargazer sells slowly amid rumors of the arrival of the Stargazer X. Photo: Bối Hạ.

As for the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid, after a relatively positive first month of the year with sales reaching 427 vehicles, the only representative in the segment with a hybrid engine has had to witness a quite sharp decline in sales. Compared to the first month of the year, the sales volume of the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid has decreased by 389 vehicles, equivalent to a decrease of over 91%.

However, if calculated from the beginning of the year, the cumulative total sales of the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid have reached 464 vehicles. This achievement helps Suzuki’s small MPV model enter the top 4 best-selling models in the entire segment, after the Mitsubishi Xpander (1,925 vehicles), the Suzuki XL7 (668 vehicles) and the Kia Carens with 505 vehicles sold after 2 months.

Difficulties ahead

Overall, the decline in the affordable MPV segment is consistent with the slow development of the entire Vietnamese automobile market in February. The trend of buying cars to meet the Tet holiday demand is likely the reason why the purchasing power was more biased towards the first month of the year, thereby causing the market to become rather gloomy in the middle month of the first quarter.

Although still owning the best-selling car model in the Vietnamese car market, the Mitsubishi Xpander, the group of affordable MPVs is expected to face a lot of pressure from models in the urban SUV segment.

The developments at the beginning of the year show that the urban SUV segment is the group of cars being favored by manufacturers when a series of promotional or price adjustment moves are launched. Hyundai Creta and Mitsubishi Xforce, after adjustments, now have a starting price of under 600 million VND, while the Toyota Yaris Cross has also received a maximum price reduction of 80 million VND.

The starting price of the Creta or Xforce after adjustment is now quite comparable to the AT version of the Mitsubishi Xpander, the second best-selling model in the whole market and also the most favorite affordable MPV.

Details about the sales data released by VAMA also show that the versions using the Mitsubishi Xpander automatic transmission always account for a high proportion of this car model’s sales structure. Thus, when considering the car segment under 600 million VND, it is very possible that the Mitsubishi Xpander will be threatened by the presence of urban SUV rivals such as Hyundai Creta, Mazda CX-3 or Mitsubishi’s own “younger brother”. Xforce.

Attractive selling price can indirectly make Mitsubishi Xforce a competitor to Mitsubishi Xpander itself. Photo: Vĩnh Phúc.

However, if viewed objectively, the small MPV segment is still assessed as having a slight advantage thanks to owning a relatively spacious usable space. Even not a few car models in this segment have an exterior with the appearance of SUVs such as Mitsubishi Xpander Cross, Toyota Veloz Cross, Suzuki XL7, Kia Carens or perhaps the

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