Vietnam's auto market declines in the first month of the second quarter of 2023

Specifically, according to the latest data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) in April 2023, sales of the entire market reached only 22,409 vehicles, down 25% compared to the previous March and down 47% compared to the same period last year.

This is the first month after 3 consecutive months of market growth "climbing", but the decrease is quite negative.

Of the total 22,409 vehicles sold in April, sales of domestically assembled vehicles reached 13,325 vehicles (down 17.6% compared to the previous month) and imported vehicles were 9,084 vehicles (down 34.5%).

Another member outside of VAMA that also had a "poor" sales month was TC Group - the assembler and distributor of the Hyundai brand, with car sales in April reaching 4,592 vehicles, down 20.4% compared to March. Meanwhile, VinFast sold 3,798 vehicles, up 315% compared to March 2023 (915 vehicles sold).

Car consumption chart April 2023 from VAMA.

The main reason for the overall market decline is mainly due to a sharp decrease in buyer demand, despite car manufacturers continuously launching promotions to reduce prices or give away registration fees (from 50% to 100%), especially for cars produced in stock from 2022.

Based on sales from VAMA reports and non-Association businesses, Toyota (4,247 vehicles sold) unexpectedly lost its top position in the market in April 2023 to Hyundai (4,592 vehicles sold). Vinfast ranked third with 3,798 vehicles. Ford ranked fourth with 3,298 vehicles. KIA ranked fifth (2,656 vehicles).

Chart comparing consumption between imported cars (CBU) and assembled cars (CKD).

It is predicted that the Vietnamese automobile market will continue to face difficulties in the coming months due to the impact of the global economic downturn. Domestically, bank loan interest rates have not cooled down soon, which also negatively affects people's demand for cars./.