Vietnam's auto sales up 17% to 308,544 in Jan-Nov

Members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA), not including VinFast and Hyundai, sold 308,544 units in the first 11 months of 2024, up 17% year-on-year.

The figure is a continuous improvement after a long slump. 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, then 2% hike in January-August, 7.5% in January-September, and 12% in January-October.

In the first 11 months of this year, the auto sales included 233,325 passenger cars, up 18%; 72,871 commercial vehicles, up 16%; and 2,348 special-purpose vehicles, up 17%.

The number of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles sold was 159,868, up 1.6% year-on-year; and that of completely-built-up (CBU) units was 148,676, a 40% rise.

November sales of 44,200 vehicles featured 34,835 passenger cars; 9,017 commercial vehicles; and 348 special-purpose vehicles. The total figure went up 14% from a month earlier and 58% year-on-year. The CKD and CBU units sold in the month were 25,114 and 19,086, respectively.

Outside VAMA, Hyundai sold 58,849 units in the 11-month period, according to a report by TC Group, manufacturer and official retailer of the South Korean brand’s vehicles in Vietnam. Its November sales volume was 10,303 units, up 34.9% from October.

VinFast, the electric vehicle (EV) arm under Vietnamese private conglomerate Vingroup, does not provide monthly data.

As a result, Hyundai was the best-selling brand in Vietnam in the first 11 months of this year, followed by Toyota (57,934), Ford (38,683), Mitsubishi (37,390), KIA (32,518), Mazda (29,755), and Honda (25,893).

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 84,031 units in the period.

Mitsubishi Xpander, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), topped the November sales chart with 2,422 units; followed by Mazda CX-5, a sport utility vehicle (SUV), with 2,408; Honda City, a sedan, with 2,327; Ford Ranger, a pickup truck, with 2,257; and Toyota Vios, a sedan, with 2,137.

Regarding the January-November sales chart, Mitsubishi Xpander topped the competition with 17,509 units; followed by Ford Ranger with 15,904; Mazda CX-5 with 13,656; and Mitsubishi Xforce with 13,267.