The data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) shows that the sales of member companies in February reached 11,633 units, a decrease of 40% compared to January and a decrease of 50% compared to the same period in 2023. In addition, Hyundai, which is not a member of VAMA, reported sales of 2,033 units, a decrease of 62.8% compared to the same period in 2023.
The car sales in our country have hit bottom after the first 2 months of the year.
The members of VAMA reported that domestically-assembled vehicles reached 6,662 units (a 32% decrease compared to January) and imported vehicles reached 4,971 units (a 47% decrease compared to January).
According to the data from VAMA and Hyundai, a total of 9,666 passenger cars were sold in February 2024. In addition, there were 4,944 commercial vehicles and 56 specialized vehicles sold to consumers. Cumulatively for the first 2 months of this year, the total sales of VAMA and Hyundai reached 36,478 units, a decrease of 26% compared to the same period in 2023.
Analysts predict that this is the lowest sales figure in the past 3 years. To compare, in February 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, VAMA sold 13,585 vehicles, while Hyundai sold 3,021 vehicles. Notably, in the cumulative period of the first 2 months of 2021, VAMA members alone sold 40,017 vehicles.
The decline in sales can be attributed to the reduced operating time of dealerships due to the 10-day Lunar New Year holiday. However, the difficult economy and tightened spending by consumers are the main reasons for the bottoming out of sales.
Ms. Ngan, who resides in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, said: “I work in real estate business. In February, if I could sell a piece of land in Ba Vi district (Hanoi), I would have enough money to buy a 7-seater car for convenient transportation. But when the customer canceled the deposit, the plan to buy a car had to be postponed for sure.”
Meanwhile, some customers are inclined to buy used cars to save a significant amount of money.
In addition, many experts believe that the beginning of the year is usually a low season for the automobile market. Besides, the government’s 50% vehicle registration fee reduction for domestically-assembled vehicles, which has been in effect since the beginning of this year, also reduces demand. According to forecasts, even if purchasing power increases in the near future, it will not meet the expectations of car companies and dealerships.
