Vietnam’s vehicle sales in January 2025 declined only slightly by 2 per cent. The Vietnamese Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) members collectively sold 15,676 vehicles last month. This figure does not include non-VAMA members VinFast and Hyundai.
MARKET STATISTICS
While VAMA members’ vehicle sales amounted to 15,676 units this year, this figure shows a decrease from both last month and the same period last year. VAMA members’ sales closed off 2024 with 27,403 units sold and 12,393 units sold January last year. The difference between both previous periods and last month’s are –43 per cent and –6 per cent respectively.
Passenger vehicle sales fell by 10.8 per cent on-year, amounting to 11,057 units. Meanwhile, commercial vehicles only saw a slight decrease in sales from 3,692 last year to 3,614 last month. Special purpose vehicle (SPV) sales improved significantly by 180.6 per cent. January 2025 saw 101 SPVs sold from 36 units from the same period last year. Finally, hybrid vehicle sales also improved. From 576 units to 904 units sold this year, the growth is measured at 56.9 per cent.
Among VAMA members, Toyota rose on top, acquiring a 17 per cent share and selling 3,346 units. Their figures improved 51.6 per cent on-year with two models reaching the country’s 10 top-selling vehicles. The Toyota Innova and Vios came at number 5 and 7 in terms of ranking.
Ford follows Toyota as VAMA’s second best-selling member, while its Ranger model also came at second place. Ford sold 2,452 units overall but fell 8.2 per cent on-year.
Meanwhile, the Mitsubishi Xpander was the top-selling vehicle of January 2025. However, Mitsubishi’s sales fell 4.3 per cent this year. Acquiring only 9.1 per cent of the market, Mitsubishi sold 1,716 units last month.
Other top-selling vehicles include the Mazda CX-5, Honda HR-V, Kia Sonet, and Seltos. Despite two models in the top 10, Kia’s sales fell 22.1 per cent with 1,846 sold overall for January.
On another note, Suzuki’s sales fell at a staggering rate of 82.4 per cent. In January last year, the automaker sold 1,594 units but only sold 280 vehicles last month. While Thaco Truck and Isuzu improved by 35.8 and 13.5 per cent respectively.
Including non-VAMA member Hyundai, Vietnam’s TIV becomes 22,812 units. Hyundai beats Toyota with 15.6 per cent of the entire market share. The Korean automaker sold 3,569 units for the month of January. The Accent was its best-selling model, claiming the third spot in the top 10.
Meanwhile, VinFast, another non-VAMA member, delivered over 10,000 electric vehicles (EV) last month. VinFast’s best-selling model was the VF3 which sold over 4,000 units. The VF5 followed closely with 3,300 units sold.
JANUARY STATUS
According to experts, this decline in sales can be traced to diminishing purchasing power from consumers. The country’s recent Lunar New Year celebrations may have impeded the ability to purchase new vehicles. Additionally, consumers behaviour such as waiting for new models to debut may have impacted January sales.
Further challenges the market may face this year include higher competition from foreign carmakers, evolving consumer preferences and demand, and support for EV charging.
Expert predictions for the year 2025 have stated that the Vietnamese vehicle market may slow down after a successful year. EVs are the newest auto trend in the country, supported by the entry of 13 Chinese EV makers and the success of local brand VinFast.
As the year has just begun, there is still time for the Vietnamese auto market to gain traction and catch up with other Southeast Asian countries.
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