Series of cars 'discontinued' in Vietnam in 2022: Some cars leave many regrets

After a period of suppression due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese automobile market in 2022 exploded with many products introduced to consumers. However, in the midst of "flowers blooming", many products sank into the veil of history, died or temporarily stopped selling in Vietnam due to many factors.

January 2022:ToyotaHilux

Emission standards in Vietnam have been raised to Euro 5 since the beginning of 2022, blocking many car models from returning, including the Toyota Hilux. This makes many people feel regretful because this is also a popular model in the pickup truck segment, second only to the "sales king" Ford Ranger.

The new generation of Toyota Hilux has an eye-catching design and a series of segment-leading safety technologies, favored by Vietnamese customers, second only to the Ford Ranger (Photo: Toyota Vietnam).

Toyota Vietnam has temporarily stopped importing Hilux since early January 2022, but this pickup model still appears in the company's product catalog, not really "killed" but simply temporarily stopped selling. According to information from the dealer, Hilux will return to Vietnam in 2023 with an engine that meets emission standards, upgraded equipment and a selling price that is likely to increase sharply.

February 2022:Ford EcoSport

Once the model that "opened" the B-size urban SUV segment in Vietnam in 2014, the Ford EcoSport's journey on the S-shaped strip of land officially came to an end at the end of February 2022.

According to Ford Vietnam, the reason this joint venture stopped assembling EcoSport is because Ford (USA) restructured its assembly and component manufacturing plants in India, affecting the supply of this car line in many markets.

Ford EcoSport (Photo: Ford Vietnam).

Ford EcoSport dominated the B-SUV "playground" from 2014 to 2018. The success of this model and the booming trend of high-chassis vehicles in Vietnam have caused many other car manufacturers to decide to compete with many new products launched in Vietnam in the period 2018 - 2022 such as: Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona or Kia Seltos.

"Going public" with many new competitors, Ford EcoSport's only competitive advantage is its low price. However, this is not enough when users are increasingly demanding in their experience. They look for new products such as Hyundai Kona or Kia Seltos despite the higher price than EcoSport because these models have more eye-catching designs, more convenient and safe equipment.

March 2022: Hyundai Kona

Hyundai Kona was first introduced in Vietnam in 2018, competing head-to-head with Ford EcoSport. Despite its higher price (VND 636 - 750 million), this "newbie" quickly defeated EcoSport to become the best-selling model in the B-size urban SUV segment thanks to its convenient equipment, stylish design and powerful 1.6L turbocharged engine.

By 2019, Hyundai Kona officially surpassed Ford EcoSport to become the best-selling model in the B-SUV segment (Photo: TC Motor).

Hyundai Kona's joy of victory did not last long. In 2020, THACO launched Kia Seltos. Thanks to its more attractive initial price than Kona (VND 589 - 719 million), Seltos did not take too long to beat its predecessor.

The explosion of Kia Seltos has caused the consumption of Hyundai Kona to gradually decrease. By March 2022, TC Motor decided to launch Hyundai Creta to replace Kona in the race in the B-SUV segment.

July 2022: VinFast Fadil, Lux A2.0 and Lux ​​SA2.0

In early 2022, when announcing its electric vehicle product line, VinFast announced that it would stop assembling gasoline vehicles by the end of 2022 to focus entirely on the new field. However, on July 15, 2022, the Vietnamese car company announced that it would stop selling the Fadil, Lux A2.0 and Lux ​​SA2.0 trio ahead of schedule.

VinFast Fadil (Photo: VinFast).

The reason is that these car models are applied with big promotion programs, attracting a large number of interested customers, causing the last batch of cars to quickly find owners. In particular, VinFast Fadil is the "star" of the Vietnamese car market when it became the best-selling car model in 2021 with sales reaching 24,128 units.

VinFast Lux A2.0 (Photo: VinFast).

VinFast Fadil, Lux A2.0 and Lux ​​SA2.0 were first launched in Vietnam at the end of 2018. In particular, Fadil quickly surpassed long-standing names such as Hyundai Grand i10 or Kia Morning to dominate the A-class urban car segment.

With full amenities and safety features that are not inferior to other competitors, VinFast Fadil is also favored by Vietnamese customers thanks to its 1.4L gasoline engine, the largest in the segment. Therefore, the "death" of this model inevitably makes users regret and actively compete to buy the last cars.

VinFast Lux SA2.0 (Photo: VinFast).

July 2022: Honda Brio

Similar to Toyota Hilux, Honda Brio was also discontinued due to not meeting Euro 5 emission standards, according to Honda Vietnam's announcement at the end of July 2022. It is still unclear whether this model will return to our country or not because before stopping sales, Brio was quite "picky".

Honda Brio (Photo: Honda Phuoc Thanh).

Honda Brio was first launched in Vietnam in June 2019. Because it is imported completely from Indonesia, the selling price of Honda Brio is listed quite high, starting from 418 million and reaching up to 452 million VND.

That is why, despite its eye-catching appearance, Honda Brio still finds it difficult to reach a large number of Vietnamese users. In the whole year of 2021, this A-class hatchback sold only 2,870 cars, much lower than VinFast Fadil (24,128 cars).

August 2022: Toyota Wigo

Without an official farewell, Toyota Wigo quietly disappeared from Toyota Vietnam's product catalog in August 2022. The Japanese automaker did not give a reason for stopping sales of this product line, but it is likely due to the engine not meeting Euro 5 emission standards.

Toyota Wigo (Photo: Toyota Vietnam).

This A-class hatchback model was first introduced to Vietnamese customers in September 2018. At first, Wigo attracted a large number of consumers thanks to its brand and affordable price compared to imported cars.

However, after the appearance of VinFast Fadil, Toyota Wigo gradually lost its position due to equipment not keeping up with the times. By 2020, this model had received a light upgrade but it was still not enough to improve consumption.

However, Toyota Wigo is likely to return to the Vietnamese market in 2023 with a new generation. The dealer has not revealed much information other than that the car will have many notable upgrades in terms of equipment and an engine that meets Euro 5 emission standards.