The Vietnamese car market in February 2024 witnessed a sluggish buying power and a sharp decline in sales, leading to a decrease in the sales of hybrid cars as well. Since the beginning of 2024, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) has provided specific data on the sales of these hybrid cars.
Contrary to the high expectations in January, the sales of hybrid cars saw a significant decline with only 205 units sold, a decrease of over 64% compared to January.
The Honda CR-V e:HEV was the best-selling model with 77 units sold, an increase of 120% compared to January, accounting for nearly half of the VAMA members’ hybrid car sales in February 2024. Despite the high price of 1,259 billion VND, the CR-V e:HEV RS, is a rare hybrid model that recorded positive growth during the Lunar New Year. In the first two months, this model reached a sales milestone of 112 units, accounting for 14.3% of the total hybrid car sales in the market.
Notably, the sales of the CR-V hybrid in February were only 7 units less than the gasoline version (84 units), accounting for 47% of the total sales of the entire lineup. This shows the increasing popularity of this “green” version despite not receiving price incentives like other models.
The hybrid sales leader last month was the Suzuki Ertiga, which sadly dropped to the lowest position with only 38 units sold, a 91.1% decrease from 427 units in January. In the first two months, a total of 465 units were delivered to customers, accounting for nearly 60% of the market share.
Following the CR-V and Ertiga are a series of Toyota models. Toyota is one of the popular brands distributing 6 hybrid car models in the Vietnam market, including Yaris Cross, Corolla, Corolla Cross, Innova Cross, Camry, and Alphard. There were a total of 89 Toyota cars sold, a 21% decrease from the previous month. Among them, the Innova Cross model saw the highest growth in the segment with an increase of over 242%. As the brand with the most products currently being sold in Vietnam, Toyota did not have any hybrid models selling more than 30 units in February.
In the last position is the Kia Sorento hybrid with only 1 unit delivered in February. In addition, other brands such as Hyundai, BMW, Lexus, Volvo, Mercedes, and some other brands did not disclose separate sales figures for hybrid cars.
Despite having many advantages such as fuel efficiency, environmental protection, and owning various new technologies, hybrid cars are still difficult to access for users due to the higher price compared to gasoline-powered cars. According to VAMA, only 781 hybrid cars were sold in the first two months of 2024, accounting for about 2% of the total market share.
In Vietnam, hybrid cars do not receive the same incentives as electric cars. However, with the continued push for green initiatives in 2024, the hybrid car market will have more opportunities for growth.
Many Vietnamese people are starting to use green cars to reduce fuel consumption, limit pollution, or look for cars with different operating capabilities than traditional cars. Hybrid cars are a familiar and more accessible choice compared to electric cars, which require changing usage habits.
Notably, according to information from dealerships, many brands are “preparing” to introduce new models and versions in 2024, including the Toyota Corolla Cross 2024, Mitsubishi Xpander HEV, and Haval Jolion. This move will contribute to the recovery and increase in sales of hybrid cars in the coming months.
