2014: Cars 'laughed', motorbikes 'cried'

While the Vietnamese automotive market had a booming year with high sales figures, the motorcycle market was rather sluggish.

Cars transcend

Although the year is not yet over, 2014 can be considered a successful year for the Vietnamese automotive market, with sales continuously increasing compared to the previous year.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), in November, the Vietnamese market consumed nearly 16,000 vehicles, an increase of 7% compared to October and a 57% increase compared to November 2013.

The Vietnamese automobile market experienced strong growth in 2014 compared to 2013.

This also marks the 20th consecutive month that the Vietnamese automotive market has seen overall industry sales surpass those of the same period the previous year.

In the first 11 months of the year, total car sales in Vietnam reached 137,602 units, a 41% increase compared to the same period in 2013. Of these, passenger car sales reached 87,218 units, a 42% increase, while truck sales reached 50,384 units, a 40% increase.

In fact, the past year has shown that, in addition to domestically assembled models, many imported cars costing billions of dong have quickly sold out after being imported.

A prime example is the Vietnam Motorshow 2014, held from November 19-23, which set a sales record. According to the organizers, in just 5 days, more than 560 car sales contracts were signed, double the number of cars sold at last year's exhibition.

Sales of both passenger cars and trucks in 2014 were higher than in 2013.

Given the above situation, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association forecasts that in 2014, the domestic automobile market could reach sales of 150,000 vehicles, an increase of 36% compared to 2013.

This is the fourth forecast increase since the beginning of this year. Previously, in March 2014, VAMA raised its forecast for Vietnam's 2014 car sales from 120,000 units to 125,000 units, then to 130,000 units in July and to 145,000 units in October.

Motorcycles are selling poorly.

In contrast to the booming automotive market, the Vietnamese motorcycle market in 2014 was quite sluggish, with many models selling slowly and having to lower their prices.

According to preliminary statistics from the Vietnam Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (VAMM), in the first 10 months of 2014, sales of the five largest FDI motorcycle companies – Honda, Yamaha, SYM, Piaggio, and Suzuki – reached over 2.2 million units, a decrease of approximately 3% compared to the same period last year.

Honda remains the market leader in Vietnam, holding a 70% market share. The Air Blade model from this Japanese manufacturer was also the best-selling motorcycle in the first 10 months of 2014, with nearly 300,000 units sold.

Meanwhile, sales figures for the first 10 months of the year for Yamaha, SYM, Piaggio, and Suzuki all declined compared to the same period last year.

Although the motorcycle market has been quite sluggish since the beginning of the year, many people still expect a recovery in the final months. This is because, according to Vietnamese consumer habits, the start of the new school year and the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year) are the two times with the highest volume of motorcycle purchases throughout the year.

According to VOV.VN