Auto sales drop 17% in September

Sales of locally assembled automobiles in Vietnam fell 17% year-on-year to more than 9,140 units in September, although it was up nearly 500 units from August, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said.

VAMA reported that in September, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) were down 19% to about 1,980 units, while the number of passenger cars fell a staggering 21% to 2,754 units. The number of commercial vehicles sold also shrank 14% year-on-year to more than 4,400 units.

Toyota Vietnam saw a slight decrease in sales to nearly 2,630 units last month from more than 2,800 units a year ago, down 6%. However, it still led the market in sales, holding a market share of 28.8%.

Ford, Isuzu, Honda, Visuco (Suzuki), Vinastar (Mitsubishi), GM-Daewoo, Mercedes-Benz and Vinamotor all suffered a slump in sales last month. Isuzu Vietnam sold 133 units, down 46% year-on-year; Honda Vietnam just over 190 units, down 47%; Ford Vietnam 545 units, down 41%; and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam 225 units, down 18%.

However, domestic automakers, including Truong Hai and Vinacomin – Vinacoal, witnessed the sharpest sales increases in September. Truong Hai’s sales increased by 382 units, or over 21%, to 2,190 units, while the little-known automaker Vinacomin – Vinacoal saw sales climb up from 13 units to 23 units.

VAMA members sold nearly 78,180 units in the January-September period, down 3% year-on-year. The SUV/MPV vehicle segment was hardest hit with sales sliding a hefty 14% to more than 16,280 units. Toyota alone sold more than 21,600 units in the nine months.

Similarly, some 4,000 cars were imported to the country in September, worth US$90 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimate. Compared with last month, the numbers marked a 20% decrease in volume and 2.17% decline in value.