Vietnam auto sales fall 2% to 18,893 in Jan amid EV trend

Members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA), not including VinFast and Hyundai, sold 18,893 units in January 2025, down 2% year-on-year and 40% from December 2024.

The figure reflected a decrease in the market after recovery in the second half of 2024, amid the growing sales of electric vehicles (EV).

After a 33% year-on-year expansion in 2022, the automobile market dropped 25% year-on-year to 301,989 units in 2023 and inched down 2% to 134,884 in the first half of 2024. The market made its first recovery with a 1% increase in January-July 2024 and then continued the trend until end-2024, going up 12.6% in the whole year.

In January 2025, the auto sales included 14,201 passenger cars, down 41% year-on-year; 4,354 commercial vehicles, down 1%; and 338 special-purpose vehicles, up 213%.

The number of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles sold was 9,120, down 7% year-on-year; and that of completely-built-up (CBU) units was 9,773, a 3% rise.

Outside VAMA, Hyundai sold 3,074 units in January 2025, according to a report by TC Group, manufacturer and official retailer of the South Korean brand’s vehicles in Vietnam.

VinFast, an electric vehicle manufacturer under Vietnam's conglomerate Vingroup, delivered over 10,000 electric cars in the first month of 2025.

Overall, the automobile sales in Vietnam in January was approximately 32,000.

As a result, VinFast was the best-selling vehicle brand in Vietnam in the period; followed by Hyundai; Toyota with 3,346; Ford with 2,452; and Mazda with 2,031.

Vietnamese conglomerate Thaco, which manufactures and sells KIA, Mazda, Peugeot and BMW vehicles, apart from its own Thaco trucks and buses, recorded total sales of 5,196 units in the period.

With VinFast leading the market, its EV led the monthly sales chart with 4,000 VF3 and 3,300 VF5. Other top ones were Ford Ranger, a pickup truck, with 1,115 and Mazda CX-5, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with 1,000.