The Automotive Appetite of Vietnam: A Nation’s Thirst for Vehicles —

According to the latest report by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first half of July, Vietnam imported a total of 8,154 automobiles, with a total value of nearly 162 million USD.

Of this number, cars with 9 seats or fewer remain the mainstay of imports, with 6,877 vehicles clearing customs during the period from July 1st to July 15th, with a total value of nearly 119 million USD.

This reporting period also marks the second-highest import volume of automobiles into Vietnam since the beginning of the year. Previously, in the first half of March, the import volume peaked with a total of 9,371 vehicles clearing customs.

The report from the General Department of Vietnam Customs also shows that from the beginning of the year to date, Vietnam has received a total of 82,557 imported completely built-up (CBU) automobiles, with a value of over 1.7 billion USD. This number equates to approximately 420 CBU automobiles imported into Vietnam daily.

Currently, the sales of imported automobiles are outperforming those of domestically assembled vehicles. Sales data provided by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) indicates that in the last three reporting periods, Vietnamese customers have been purchasing more imported cars than domestically assembled ones.

In the first half of the year, Vietnamese customers purchased a total of 134,884 automobiles, including 67,849 assembled cars and 67,035 imported CBU units.

At present, the Mitsubishi Xpander is the best-selling model in Vietnam, with sales of 7,773 units in the first six months. Notably, imported versions account for a significant proportion of the sales of this small MPV, totaling 6,382 vehicles.

At the end of the first half of the year, Indonesia and Thailand continue to be the leading countries in terms of completely built-up (CBU) automobile imports into Vietnam. A total of 32,797 Indonesian-origin cars were imported into Vietnam, while the figure for Thailand was 23,736 cars.

China is the third-largest source of automobile imports for the Vietnamese market, with a total of 14,729 vehicles clearing customs in the first six months, with a total value of nearly 456 million USD. Japan exported 1,377 vehicles to Vietnam during the same period, while the number of completely built-up cars from the US that arrived at Vietnamese ports by the end of June was 430.

The recent influx of Chinese automobile brands may also contribute to the continued growth of imported cars in Vietnam for the remainder of 2024. At present, BYD is distributing cars in Vietnam through imports, while the Omoda and Jaecoo brands of Chery are also being sold to Vietnamese customers through imports in the initial phase.

Meanwhile, the Lynk & Co models are being imported by Tasco, and MG is operating with imports from Thailand and China.