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According to preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, the number of imported completely built-up cars of all kinds into Vietnam in January 2024 decreased by 9.1% compared to the imported volume in the previous month.
Specifically, the import volume in January was 6,955 units, equivalent to more than 145 million USD. Meanwhile, completely built-up cars of all kinds imported as recorded by the General Department of Customs in the previous month reached 7,650 units with a value of 175 million USD.
Compared to the same period in 2023, both the volume and value of imported cars to Vietnam decreased by more than 50%.
In 2023, Thailand was the largest supplier of cars to Vietnam with a market share of 45.35% in terms of volume and accounted for 40.46% in terms of value of imported completely built-up cars of the whole country. The average unit value of imported cars from Thailand is approximately 21,100 USD/unit (about 520 million VND/unit).
However, in January of this year, Thailand was surpassed in both volume and value as the largest supplier.
Specifically in terms of production, Indonesia takes the lead with 2,647 cars, followed by China with 1,987 cars, and Thailand is in third place with 1,858 cars imported into Vietnam. The shares of these 3 countries are 38%, 29%, and 27% respectively.
In terms of value, cars from China takes the lead with over 47 million USD, while Thailand is in second place with over 35.7 million USD and Indonesia in third place with 35.2 million USD. So Thailand is also down to second place in both volume and value.
Some imported car models from Thailand that Vietnamese people are interested in include: Toyota Corolla Cross, Camry, Corolla Altis, Fortuner (some versions), Ford Everest, Honda HR-V, Civic, Mazda 2, CX-30, CX-3, Forester Subaru…
Imported cars from China are mainly trucks and specialized vehicles, so they have the highest unit value, an average of 23,700 USD/unit, equivalent to about 570 million VND.
In terms of consumption level, according to the report of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA), the total sales of the whole market reached 19,243 vehicles in January 2024.
Of the total sales, the passenger car segment reached 14,745 units, down 54%. The commercial vehicle segment reached 4,390 units, down 31.5%, and the specialized vehicle segment reached 108 units, down 46% compared to the previous month.
In which, the sales of locally assembled cars reached 9,783 units, down 59% compared to the previous month, and the sales of completely built-up imported cars reached 9,460 units, down 36% compared to the previous month.
According to evaluations, the sharp decrease in car consumption by Vietnamese people in the first month of the year is due to the declining demand of the people. The continuing reason is that the market is directly affected by the general difficulties of the global economy. Income sources decrease, real estate and stock market stabilize, the interest rate of banks is at a high level, making people need to tighten their spending and be more cautious in shopping plans, especially for large assets such as cars.
