In May, sales of the entire automobile market reached 27,927 units, equivalent to a decrease of 49% compared to previous month and 12% compared to the same period in 2022.

“Purchasing power has decreased sharply compared to the previous year. Dealers are having to cut losses to sell cars, but customers are still sparse,” said a sales manager at a Hyundai showroom in Ho Chi Minh City. He said this year’s market is difficult to achieve the same sales as 2022, and industry-wide sales prove that.

In May, sales of automobile companies including the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), Hyundai Thanh Cong, VinFast all dropped sharply. Total sales of the three carriers reached 27,297 vehicles, dropped by 12% compared to April and 49% compared to the same period in 2022.

This is the second month in a row Vietnamese’s car purchasing power went down although discounts are a marketing phrase used widely, from economy cars to luxury, from brands to dealerships. The impact of economic recession, rising consumer loan interest rates… causing demand for cars to stall.

From March, the sales gap between 2022 and 2023 widened. In 2022, the 50% discount on registration fee for domestically assembled cars applied during December 2021 till May 2022 will help increase purchasing power. In contrast, in the same period in 2023, the market is quiet and there are no incentives for registration fees. This makes a big difference in sales in the first 2022 months of 2023 and the same period last year.

Accumulated from the beginning of 2023, the whole market sold 144,913 vehicles, down 45% compared to the same 2022. In which, VAMA sales decreased by 36%, Hyundai Thanh Cong – Hyundai car seller, decreased by 29%, VinFast dropped by 31%.

Within VAMA, most car manufacturers decreased sales compared to the same period in 2022. Toyota, leading the organization’s sales and was behind Hyundai at the scale of the whole market, sold 21,547 units, decreased by 43%, while Kia’s nearly 14,000 vehicles, decreased by 56% and Mazda’s nearly 11,400 vehicles, decreased by 35%…

The only growth carrier was Ford when selling 14,302 vehicles, an increase of 87%. This increase of the US joint venture is thanks to decent sales after 5 months of 2023. While in the same period of 2022, Ford vehicles are at the end of their life cycle, supply decreases waiting for the launch of new versions, sales fall deeply.

The auto market is entering the second half of June, where automakers and dealers are still actively promoting in various forms to push inventory. Registration fee incentives for domestically assembled vehicles are likely to apply in July, which can help the market prosper.

However, according to many dealers, this offer is difficult to help the market break out compared to previous years because people’s demand for cars is at a low stage due to income being affected by the economic downturn. The Ministry of Finance also said that the decrease in registration fees is still difficult to sharply increase vehicle consumption, the stimulus effect may be worse than in the 2020-2022 period.

Source: vnexpress.net