Vietnam’s Jan-Feb auto sales down 23%

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA), not including VinFast and Hyundai, sold 30,876 vehicles in the first two months of 2024, down 23% year-on-year.

The total comprised 22,844 passenger cars, down 26% year-on-year; 7,868 commercial vehicles, down 12%; and 164 special-purpose vehicles, down 59%.

The number of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles sold was 16,445, down 27% year-on-year; and that of completely-built-up (CBU) units was 16,431, a 19% drop.

February sales of 11,633 vehicles – 8,099 passenger cars, 4,478 commercial vehicles, and 56 special-purpose vehicles – marked a 40% decrease from the previous month and 50% year-on-year drop. The numbers of CKD and CBU units sold in the month were 6,662 and 4,971, respectively.

Outside VAMA, Hyundai sold 5,602 units in January-February, according to a report by TC Group, the manufacturer and official retailer of Hyundai vehicles in Vietnam. Its February sales figure was 2,033 units, down 43% over the previous month.

Hyundai was the best-selling brand in Vietnam in the first two months of this year. Other top selling auto brands were Ford (4,335), Toyota (3,456), Honda (3,287), and Mitsubishi (2,611).

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 9,253 units in the first two months of the year. This figure included 3,755 KIA and 3,327 Mazda vehicles, also among the top selling brands in Vietnam.

In February, Ford Ranger, a pickup truck, was the best-selling model in Vietnam with 880 units; followed by Mitsubishi Xpander, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), with 641; Honda City, a subcompact car, with 640; Mazda CX-5, a sport utility vehicle (SUV), with 600; and KIA Sonet, a SUV, with 428.