Vietnam’s Automobile Sales by Segment in 2023

Vietnam’s vehicle sales decreased 18.1% year-on-year to 378,682 units in 2023 (combined vehicle sales data of VAMA members and two non-members Hyundai Motor’s local subsidiary Hyundai Thanh Cong Vietnam (HTCV) and local automaker VinFast). Stricter car loan screenings are behind the market decline. Looking at the market composition, SUVs accounted for the largest share at 34.0%, an increase of 15.8 points compared to 2018, followed by passenger cars at 21.9%, a decrease of 23.7 points. The reason for this trend is that automakers are expanding their SUV product lineups due to the worldwide popularity of SUVs.

Passenger car sales decreased significantly, dropping by 37.2% from the previous year to 82,815 units. The number of units sold fell below 100,000 units for the first time in six years since 2017, and as a result, the overall automobile market declined. Market composition ratio of passenger cars has fallen from 28.5% in the previous year to 21.9%, and the gap with SUVs, which are the largest by vehicle type in terms of sales, has widened significantly. The reason behind the market contraction is that the economic downturn has affected people who are looking for relatively low-priced vehicles.The sales volume of midsize and large SUVs, which form a volume segment in Vietnam, was 79,268 units, down 19.6% from the previous year. Its market composition ratio was 20.9%.Another volume segment, small MPVs, dropped 16.3% to 40,328 units. Its market composition ratio was 10.6% in 2023.