Auto sales rise 10 percent

Domestic auto sales have increased by 10 percent year on year, totalling 10,031 units in September, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).

Passenger cars revealed the highest growth rate with a total of 4,150 units sold, up 51 percent from a year ago.

Last month, VAMA members introduced only one new car to this segment, the Honda Accord 2.4.

The segment is expected to have showcased at the Vietnam Motor Show 2011 in HCM City.

Five of the best selling passenger cars included the Kia Morning, Toyota Corolla Altis, Toyota Vios, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Camry.

Following the passenger car segment was Sport Utility/Multi Purpose/Cross-over Vehicles (SUV/MPV/Cross-over) with a 10 percent growth on the back of nearly 1,990 units sold.

In its report, the association said that commercial vehicle sales had decreased by 12 percent with only 3,900 units purchased. Last month, Toyota Vietnam retained first place by selling 3,048 units, followed by Truong Hai Auto and GM Vietnam with 2,677 and 1,068 units sold respectively.

With September’s figure, total auto sales of VAMA members in the first nine months of this year reached 80,678 units, an increase of 3 percent in comparison with the same period in 2010 in which SUV/MPV/Cross-over went up by 4 percent, passenger cars increased by 31.6 percent and commercial vehicles declined by 13 percent. Experts predicted that the market would continue developing in the last months of this year, especially within the passenger car segment.