Car Sales by Foreign Firms Continue to Soar in May

Car Sales by Foreign Firms Continue to Soar in May

Foreign-led automakers in Vietnam sold 2,993 automobiles in May, bringing the total to 12,851 units in the January-May period, up 22  and 30  on year, respectively, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

This is the third month in a row foreign-invested carmakers have seen sharp rises in car sales in the country, blowing away the fear and forecast of dramatic sales falls this year due to the special consumption tax raise from 24  to 40  this year.

In April, they sold 2,926cars, up 38  on-year.

The increase in sales output is attributed to attractive sales promotion programs, including registration tax, accessories and trial drives, an official said.

Toyota still led the market in the month and the entire five-month period with sales of 1,171and 4,320 units, up 69.7  and 29  on-year, holding 39.1  and 32.9  of the market share.

Vidamco, a branch of GM-Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., and Visuco, a joint venture led by Suzuki, kept their second and third places with 409 and 309 units sold in May, respectively.

Vinastar and Ford dropped a place on the sales ranking table to the fourth and fifth place with sales of 294 units and 268 units in May and 1,469 units and 1,379 units between January and May, up 40  and down 24.73  and up 96  and 1 , respectively.

Mekong Auto Co., the first foreign-invested carmaker in Vietnam, suffered the deepest fall in sales in the whole period by 31  to 195 units but saw a 75  rise in sales in May to 28 vehicles.

Among carmakers with delightful sales rises, Japan’s Hino was on top with a 558.3  increase in May and a 293  rise in January-May.

Last year, 11 operational car joint ventures sold 40,138 automobiles, down 6  on-year.

* The following table details car sales, market shares and growths of the 11 foreign-invested carmakers in Vietnam in May and in January-May period.

Source: VAMA