Vietnam sees October surge in car imports from Japan

Vietnam saw a sharp rise in car imports from Japan in October, particularly in the segment with nine seats or fewer, according to the General Department of Customs.

A total of 14,675 cars with nine seats or fewer were imported in October. While 6,177 units were imported via the Hai Phong Port, down 7.4% from the previous month; those via Ho Chi Minh City saw a 15.2% surge to 7,826 units.

Of these, imports from Japan experienced a sharp increase with 910 units of nine-seater or smaller, nearly four times the figure from the previous month.

Despite this dramatic rise, Indonesia and Thailand remained Vietnam’s top sources. In October, Vietnam imported 6,803 cars from Indonesia, down 3.9% decrease from September; and 5,867 cars from Thailand, down 19%. Imports from China totaled 662 units, down 1.2%.

Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China exported a total of 14,242 cars, representing 97% of all nine-seater or smaller cars imported into Vietnam in October.

Vietnam's car import activity has been particularly robust in recent months. Between November 1 and 15, the country imported 10,129 completely built-up (CBU) cars of all types, valued at $212.71 million.

This marks a staggering 173.3% increase compared to the same period in 2023, making it one of the highest half-month import volumes on record.

In the year to November 15, Vietnam had imported a total of 153,011 CBU cars with a total value of $3.15 billion - up 13.81% year-over-year in volume (an additional 45,488 cars) and a 23.34% increase in value.