Vietnam's auto market grew strongly at the end of the first quarter

Over the past two months, domestic car sales have continued to grow. In March, a total of 49,218 cars of all kinds were sold, up 32% compared to the previous month. In February, it increased 16% compared to January.

The above data is compiled from sales of members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), importers, VinFast and Hyundai Thanh Cong (HTC) - the company distributing Hyundai cars.

VinFast did not announce sales figures for March 2024. If we only count VAMA and Hyundai figures, the market consumed 37,118 vehicles last month, up 16% over the same period in 2024. After three months, VAMA and Hyundai sold 83,715 vehicles, up 22% over the same period last year.

With an additional 34,600 VinFast vehicles by the end of the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam's auto industry sales will reach about 118,315 vehicles, equivalent to nearly 2,000 vehicles sold per day and one vehicle sold per minute.

Sales figures for the past three months show that VAMA sales have grown steadily, while VinFast and HTC have fluctuated, but the decrease was quite small. For example, HTC's sales in February reached 3,022 vehicles, down slightly by 2% compared to the previous month. VinFast sold more than 12,100 vehicles in March, down about 4% compared to February.

If we only consider each brand, VinFast is the company that sells the most cars in the market with more than 34,600 cars, far surpassing the two competitors behind HTC - 11,474 cars and Toyota - 11,830 cars (excluding Lexus). VinFast alone accounts for nearly 30% of the Vietnamese car market.

According to sales experts, the effect of widespread discount programs has helped the industry's sales continuously increase. From luxury cars to popular cars, assembled cars to imported cars, all have promotions in the form of preferential registration fees, additional accessories or direct cash.

The first quarter is usually the period when manufacturers and dealers clear out inventory for the 2024 production lot (VIN). Many 2025 models on the market with old VINs are discounted one and a half to two times more than new cars.

March is the month with the highest sales because the market is bustling again after Tet, a series of new cars are launched, helping Vietnamese people have more diverse choices. Starting from April, the market is expected to be more vibrant when many Japanese companies start business activities for the new fiscal year.