Vietnam EV market race heats up with presence of foreign brands

Vietnam’s electric vehicle (EV) market race has heated up with the entry of several foreign giants including BYD and Chery of China and MG of the UK.

Over the past few months, there has been a “massive rolling out” of new electric car models in the nation’s 100-million-strong market, observers say.

Most recently, on June 18, famous German auto brand Audi officially launched its Q8 e-tron EV model in Vietnam. It is already offering two other models – e-tron GT and e-tron SUV - in the market.

Audi Q8 e-tron, which belongs to the mid-size luxury electric SUV segment, has a selling price of VND3.8 billion ($149,312). Customers will be gifted a 22kW ABB AC wall charger on orders placed this year.

Q8 e-tron's rival is Mercedes EQE SUV, launched in the Vietnamese market in the second half of 2023 at a price of approximately VND4 billion. The world-renowned car maker began offering three other models – EQB 250, EQE 500 and EQS 500 - in Vietnam earlier this year. All four models are imported directly from the U.S.

On June 18, Chinese car producer Chery launched two hybrid EV models, Omoda C5 and Jaecoo J7 in Ho Chi Minh City. Omoda C5 belongs to the C-segment crossover and is said to have a price directly competitive with Mazda CX5 (about VND750 million or $29,470) while Jaecoo 7 crossover of the B+ segment is priced at about VND650 million.

The Omoda & Jaecoo models were imported and distributed in Vietnam by a joint venture between Geleximco Group and Chery International. Previously, this joint venture had invested $800 million in building an automobile manufacturing and assembly factory in the northern province of Thai Binh with the goal of producing 200,000 vehicles per year and capturing 10% of the market share by 2028.

On June 15, the world's largest electric car company, BYD, introduced three models: SEAL, DOLPHIN and ATTO3 in the sedan, hatchback and SUV segments, respectively.

The price of SUV ATTO3, BYD's main product, is expected to be in the VND630-730 million ($28,680) range, while SEAL will cost VND900 million ($35,360), equivalent to the Thai market. These models will officially be offered for sale in Vietnam in mid-July.

Meanwhile, another prominent name in the auto market, MG, officially launched its MG4 electric car model in the Vietnamese market on June 1. This brand, acquired by China’s SAIC Motor in 2005, plans to sell the MG4 for VND800-900 million.

No discussion of the EV market in Vietnam will be complete without mentioning the dominant presence of VinFast, a national brand that has received warm responses for its VF 6, VF 7, VF 8 and VF Wild models.

Fierce competition

Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia-Pacific auto sales division, had told the Vietnamese press earlier that his company did not consider VinFast a competitor and had great admiration for the Vietnamese brand. The car maker has made a lot of effort in Vietnam, virtually introducing the EV concept to Vietnamese users, he said.

His firm wished to join hands with VinFast to develop the electric vehicle industry in Vietnam, Xueliang added.

Market observers have said that the BYD representative’s statements indicate the careful strategy adopted by the firm before entering a market like Vietnam, where VinFast, the "national car maker", has paved the way.

They have also noted that BYD, the largest EV brand globally with 2023 sales of 3.02 million units, researched the Vietnamese market for 10 years before deciding to sell cars here, despite scoring success in other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

Other major car makers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz or MG have also showed some caution in entering the Vietnamese EV market, introducing their models at the Vietnam Motor Show 2022 before venturing into official sales.

Both experts and dealers have remarked that the EV race in Vietnam is unpredictable and fierce.

"If you want to sell electric cars in Vietnam, you must invest in charging stations," said the manager of a car showroom in Ho Chi Minh City who declined to be named.

Quan Tran, a market observer and distributor of many luxury car and motorbike models in HCMC, said buyers have to pay close attention to price and brand reputation.

"Except for VinFast and Hyundai (partly), most electric cars in Vietnam are imported. High taxes and fees can push up their prices, not to mention reputation and brand recognition. Sometimes, luxury electric cars from Mercedes-Benz or Audi are easier to sell than lower-segment products," Quan said.