A Plethora of Car Models Continue to be on Sale with Discounts of up to Hundreds of Millions

Subaru Vietnam is offering substantial discounts of up to 140 million VND on the Forester model throughout August, aiming to boost sales.

With the cumulative discounts from both the manufacturer and dealers, the i-L version of the Subaru Forester is now priced at approximately 969 million VND, a reduction of 50 million VND from its previous price.

The i-L EyeSight version has a discounted price of 1.099 billion VND, a reduction of 110 million VND, while the i-S EyeSight version sees the highest discount of 140 million VND, now priced at 1.199 billion VND.

While the aforementioned prices are indicative, the actual prices at dealerships may vary depending on their individual policies.

Up to this point, the Subaru Forester is one of the models with the most significant price reductions compared to its competitors. It is also considered the flagship model for the brand in Vietnam since the switch from importing from Japan to Thailand.

Currently, the Subaru Forester is still imported from Thailand for the year 2024. However, when the factory in Thailand closes and imports switch back to Japan, the selling price is expected to increase due to tax and fee adjustments.

Joining the market with significant discounts is the Suzuki Ciaz. Specifically, after applying the promotions, a car dealer in the central region of Vietnam is offering the Ciaz at 440 million VND, a reduction of 95 million VND from the previous listed price of 534.9 million VND.

It is worth noting that this price reduction policy only applies to the 2022 brown Ciaz models, which are the remaining stock at the dealership, and the quantity of these vehicles is very limited.

With a discount of up to 95 million VND, the Suzuki Ciaz’s price is now on par with the standard versions of competitors such as the Hyundai Accent MT (439 million VND) and the Toyota Vios MT (458 million VND).

When compared to models in the lower segment, the Ciaz’s price after the dealership’s discount is even lower than the Hyundai Grand i10 Sedan 1.2 AT by about 10 million VND.

Honda Vietnam is currently offering the most significant discounts in the market, continuing to introduce familiar promotional policies for most of their automotive products, with values of up to over 200 million VND.

Specifically, the HR-V and BR-V models are offered with a 50% reduction in registration fees, along with other gifts from dealerships.

As the registration fee is set at 10%, the highest value for the HR-V is 43.6 million VND, while the BR-V reaches 35.3 million VND.

The Honda Accord, a D-segment sedan, sees the deepest discount among Honda’s offerings. As of August 2024, the Accord continues to be discounted by 220 million VND in cash, similar to previous months, to clear out old stock. However, the Accord’s sales performance remains lackluster.

Mitsubishi, another Japanese brand, has also been consistently offering discounts over a prolonged period.

According to several Mitsubishi dealerships, the Mitsubishi Xforce is currently available with discounts on multiple versions, with the Xforce Exceed version offering a cash discount equivalent to 100% of the registration fee.

The Xforce Exceed is now priced at 640 million VND.

For customers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, dealerships are offering a cash discount equivalent to 12% of the vehicle’s price, amounting to 76.8 million VND. Meanwhile, customers in provinces with a 10% registration fee will receive a discount of 64 million VND.

With this discount, the total cost of the Xforce Exceed version, including registration and other fees, is only 643 million VND in provinces with a 10% registration fee. In contrast, the Xforce GLX base model only enjoys a 50% registration fee discount, resulting in a total cost of approximately 633 million VND.

Notably, all vehicles included in this promotion are 2024 models, whereas many other vehicles on the market, despite being discounted, are mostly 2023 models or older.

Consumers Await Lower Registration Fees

According to a report by the General Statistics Office, 44,400 vehicles, including domestically produced and imported cars, were introduced into the Vietnamese market in July, an increase of 3.4% compared to June.

The General Statistics Office also noted a significant discrepancy between imported and domestically assembled vehicles.

“In July, the number of domestically assembled vehicles reached 27,400 units, a decrease of 50% compared to June, while the number of imported vehicles reached 17,000 units, an increase of over 1,500 units compared to the previous month. This is also the highest import volume since the beginning of the year,” stated the General Statistics Office.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reported that the total market sales in July reached 28,920 vehicles, including 22,847 passenger cars, 5,857 commercial vehicles, and 215 special-purpose vehicles.

Passenger car sales increased by 15%, commercial vehicle sales decreased by 9%, and special-purpose vehicle sales increased by 1% compared to the previous month. Notably, the sales of domestically assembled vehicles reached 13,788 units, a 6% increase compared to the previous month, while the sales of completely built-up imported vehicles were 15,132 units, an 11% increase compared to the previous month.

“Overall, in the first seven months of the year, total market sales increased by 1% compared to 2023, with passenger cars increasing by 1%, commercial vehicles increasing by 3%, and special-purpose vehicles decreasing by 1% compared to 2023. Notably, the sales of domestically assembled vehicles decreased by 12%, while the sales of imported vehicles increased by 19% compared to the same period last year,” VAMA analyzed.

Despite the various promotional policies, including price reductions and registration fee discounts, August is typically a quiet period for the Vietnamese automotive market as consumers refrain from purchasing during this time due to the traditional belief of the “ghost month.” As a result, both automakers and dealerships do not anticipate a significant boost in sales during this month.