Vietnam’s automobile sales in February plummet 50% year-on-year. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s automobile sales in February plummeted 50 per cent year-on-year to 11,633 automobiles, the biggest drop in three years.

The sales were even lower than the figure recorded in February 2021 – the time when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out as 13,585 vehicles were sold.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) announced that its members sold a total of 30,876 units during January – February, plunging 23 per cent from the same time last year. Meanwhile, the two-month sales in 2021 were recorded at 40,017.

Besides VAMA members, the Vietnamese auto market also includes other automakers such as Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo, but they did not disclose their business results.

Thanh Cong (TC) Group announced its sales of 2,033 units in February, and 5,602 in the first two months of the year.

There were no sales results from VinFast as the Vietnamese automaker has announced its sales quarterly from August 2023 as required by the US stock market.

Based on reports from VAMA and TC Group, 36,478 automobiles were delivered to customers during January-February, a year-on-year decrease of 26 per cent.

Top three best-selling brands in February were Hyundai (2,033 units), Ford (1,664) and KIA (1,386). They were followed by Mazda (1,355), Honda (1,264) and Toyota (1,248).

VAMA attributed the slump in the auto sales to the week-long Lunar New Year holidays.

Meanwhile, businesses and experts said that it was also due to economic challenges and expiration of the 50 per cent registration fee reduction on January 1.

They also held that purchasing power could improve but lag behind expectations in the coming months.

From the beginning of March, many brands have offered discounts and run various promotional programmes to boost sales.

Mercedes-Benz Vietnam has listed prices for its C-Class, E-Class, GLB, GLE and AMG models between nearly VNĐ1.39 billion (US$56,355) to VNĐ6 billion. The new prices are reduced by between VNĐ210 million and VNĐ719 million.

TC Group and Toyota Vietnam have offered price cuts for the B-SUV Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Vios and Veloz Cross.

In the meantime, Honda Vietnam has provided its customers with attractive offers, including granting 100 per cent of registration fee and VNĐ30 million in cash for those who buy Honda CR-V G and Honda City L/G.

Completely-built-up cars such as Yaris Cross and Xforce also have their prices adjusted down to lure more customers. — VNS