Vietnamese automotive market: Exciting from the first month

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The automotive market in January 2019 was exciting with many changes

According to the latest report from the Vietnam automobile manufacturers' association (VAMA), by the end of January, 2019, sales of VAMA enterprises reached more than 33,400 units. In which, sales of touring cars dramatically increased by about 47% compared to January 2018, and 14% compared to December 2018 with a consumption of nearly 27,400 units.

In addition to data published by Hyundai Thanh Cong (this company is not a VAMA member) with 6,800 cars sold in January, the total sales of the Vietnam automotive market in January 2019 reached more than 40,200 units, of which, passenger car sales were 33,500 units, accounting for over 84% of total car consumption in the market.

In January 2019, the market also saw a strong fluctuation in the volume of imported cars with a consumption of 14,680 units, a year on-year increase of over 166% compared to the volume of domestically sold cars of 18,800 units, equivalent to a reduction of about 10% over the same period.

January 2019 also witnessed a surprising change in the best-selling car models in the market. VAMA’s report showed that the 12 best-selling car models in the market (with sales of more than 1000 units) emerged as car models in the SUV market segment, such as Honda CRV (2,800 units), Mazda CX5 (2,100 units), Cerato (1,600 units); Fortuner; Ford Ranger; Mitsubishi Xpander, and then other models like: Mazda 3 (1,900 units); Toyota Vios (1,900 units) and common models such as Hyundai i10, Accent, City and Kia Morning.

Regarding businesses, Truong Hai Group, with its strength as a manager of many brands in Vietnam such as BMW, Mazda, KIA, Peugeot, and especially in the commercial vehicle segment with small trucks and passenger cars, sold cars with a total of more than 10,200 units, accounting for 32.3% of market share of VAMA members. For each brand, the highest sales belonged to Mazda, with 5,135 units sold (accounting for 16.2% market share), and KIA with 3,463 cars sold (accounting for 10.9%), and trucks with 824 units sold (accounting for 2.6%).

With more than 1,000 cars, Toyota Vietnam held the No. 1 position in touring cars with nearly 7,600 units sold compared to more than 6,800 units sold by Hyundai Thanh Cong.

Honda Vietnam, thanks to CR-V's incredible sales growth, has surpassed Ford Vietnam to rise to No. 3 with a total of 4,383 sold units; Ford Vietnam ranked 4th with 3,401 sold units.

A more specific analysis of some models shows a strange development in the automotive market in the first month of the year.

In particular, that is the 5 + 2-seat crossover model from Honda, which created the biggest surprise in the Vietnamese automotive market in 2019 with 2,800 units. With this result, the CR-V not only surpassed its great rival Mazda CX-5, but also achieved the position of best-selling car in the market of Toyota Vios. Especially, in order to own this car before Tet, customers had to accept paying a buying price that is a few tens of VND millions higher than normal, and to buy parts thereof with value of up to more than hundred million.

Huyndai Santa Fe, the locally assembled car model of Hyundai Thanh Cong, is also the name causing "fluctuations" in the automotive market in the first month of the year when chasing the popular imported car model in Vietnam, the Toyota Fortuner. 836 cars were sold to customers only after less than 1 month of its introduction. Particularly noteworthy in the context when customers have to pay an additional amount of VND 70-160 million.

Hyundai SantaFe, the new SUV model which appeared from January 9, 2019 has "stirred" the market

Mitsubishi Xpander also became a "phenomenon", since in the whole sales season 2018, Mitsubishi sold only 990 Xpander units. In the first month of 2019, there were 1,295 cars sold (doubling the sales of competitors such as Avanza and Rush Toyota with only 665 cars).

Maintaining the "king" position in the segment for many years, but now Ford EcoSport has to cede this position to its rival, Hyundai Kona. With a selling volume of 684 cars to customers in the first month of 2019, the Hyundai Kona for the fourth consecutive time since October 2018, has sales exceeding Ford models (485 units).

It can be seen that the automotive market is different from previous years, and in January 2019, was thrilling and exciting with many big changes. This assessment shows that the market is diverse with many clear possibilities and options in 2019.

Automobile market set for major breakthroughs in 2019 The Vietnamese automobile market will enjoy major breakthroughs during 2019 once the supply source of imported cars ...

The trend that low-cost and popular cars, and especially new-generation cars imported into Vietnam, will increase and the appearance of models with the new name Vinfast will certainly create new fluctuations for the automotive market, including price competition.