According to the report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), the Vietnamese automobile market saw a sharp decline in sales volume in January 2024 due to the proximity to the Lunar New Year. Even popular segments like MPVs were affected.
Despite being the hottest model in the Vietnamese market, the Mitsubishi Xpander still experienced a significant decrease in sales in January. Specifically, in January 2024, this small-sized MPV model achieved a sales volume of 1,285 vehicles, a decrease of 54.2% compared to December 2023. Although having negative growth, the Mitsubishi Xpander is still the best-selling model in the MPV segment and leads the entire Vietnamese market.
However, the biggest surprise in this segment in January came from 2 Suzuki models. In the first month of the new year, the Suzuki XL7 sold 450 vehicles, a strong growth of 130.7% compared to December 2023. As a result, the Suzuki XL7 rose to the second position in the MPV segment, just behind the Mitsubishi Xpander.
The growth of the Suzuki XL7 is quite surprising as this model often has modest sales figures. Achieving this result may be due to Suzuki’s deeply discounted program in the past period.
Similarly to its sibling XL7, the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid also had a shining month with 427 units sold, an increase of 46.2% compared to the previous month. This is a record high since its introduction in Vietnam. This result helped the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid rank third in the MPV segment and surpass formidable competitors such as Honda BR-V or Toyota Veloz Cross.
The Ertiga Hybrid has also been continuously rewarded by the company to clear inventory. This is partly the reason for driving the growth of this MPV model while helping the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid escape from being the least-sold car in the market.
Apart from the top 3, other models have seen unsatisfactory sales figures.
In addition, Hyundai Custin has quickly gained trust from users in a short time since its appearance in the Vietnamese market. As of January 2024, Hyundai Custin has sold nearly 2,000 vehicles.
The Toyota Innova Cross can be considered a surprising model in the MPV segment as it only sold 17 units in January 2024, a decrease of 92.4%. Therefore, this is the MPV model with the highest sales decline rate in the past month. Among them, there were 10 gasoline-powered Innova Cross units and 7 hybrid units. Contrary to international markets like Indonesia and India, the Toyota Innova Cross has not been well received in Vietnam.
