Automobile sale revenue in Việt Nam market down 22 per cent in the first 2 months. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Xuyên

HÀ NỘI — The Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays, the ending of registration fee cuts and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic led to plummeting automobile sales in February, according to insiders.

A report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) said its members sold 13,585 vehicles in the month, down 22 per cent over the previous month.

The figure comprised 6,939 passenger cars, 3,767 commercial vehicles and 179 special-use vehicles.

The sales of domestically-assembled vehicles fell 41 per cent month-on-month to 8,610 vehicles, while that of completely built-up (CBU) vehicles dropped 58 per cent from January to 4,975 units.

However, VAMA member automakers’ sales in the first two months of this year still rose 21 per cent year-on-year to 40,017 vehicles.

Experts said the figure did not reflect the situation of the Vietnamese automobile market, as it did not include sales of brands such as Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo, whose sales were not revealed.

In February, TC Motor alone sold 3,021 vehicles, while Vinfast sold 1,718 vehicles. In the first two months, the two brands sold 18,324 vehicles in total.

TC Motor led all brands in February sales with 3,021 vehicles, followed by Kia with 2,488, Toyota with 2,411, VinFast with 1,718, Mazda with 1,440, Honda with 1,281, and Ford with 1,094.

The VinFast Fadil and Kia Seltos were the bestsellers in the month with sales of more than 1,000 vehicles each.

In another development, Việt Nam’s automobile imports slowed in January. 

Việt Nam spent US$213 million importing cars in January, a 34.3 per cent drop compared to the previous month, reported the General Department of Customs.

The main markets were Thailand with 4,341 units, China (1,463) and Indonesia (1,437), accounting for 87 per cent of total car imports.

Nine-seater passenger vehicles or passenger cars of under nine seats were 5,203 units worth nearly $102 million, accounting for 62.4 per cent.

The number of vehicles with less than nine seats imported dropped by 27.4 per cent in January or a decrease of 1,965 units compared to December 2020.

For transport vehicles, import volume stood at 2,230 units worth $60.6 million, down 48.6 per cent in volume and 40.9 per cent in value compared to December.

January also saw an import volume of 907 special-use vehicles valued at $50 million. Of this figure, 736 units were imported from China via the northern border gate of Lang Son of Viet Nam, accounting for 81 per cent of the total number of this type imported into the country. — VNS