Car firms rejoice over first half sales

Ford Vietnam - Binh Duong

Japan-backed Toyota Vietnam (TMV) announced a 38 per cent jump in sales on-year for this period with 23,031 vehicles being sold (not including the high-end Lexus models). Of these, commercial cars registered a 20 per cent hike with more than 10,600 units, while passenger cars leaped 59 per cent with over 12,400 units.

Similarly, US-backed Ford Vietnam reported their sales volume soaring by 70 per cent on-year to 8,952 vehicles. The company sold 1,617 units this June alone, experiencing a 66 per cent jump compared to last year. With these figures, Ford continues to be one of fastest growing brands on the Vietnamese market this year.

However, despite Toyota’s and Ford’s impressive sales results, it is Truong Hai Auto JSC (Thaco) that currently holds the pole position in sales volumes. In June alone, Thaco sold 6,666 units, increasing its sales by 90 per cent on-year. In the first half of the year, the company enjoyed a 93 per cent growth in sales, reaching 34,593 units.

Meanwhile, Japan-backed Honda has only seen a modest growth in sales volume with 3,744 units, up 16 per cent on-year.

The most recent figures published by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) show that a total of 18,686 vehicles (both locally assembled and imported) have been sold in June alone, a little more than 50 per cent more compared to the same period last year. Moreover, June was the 27th consecutive month posting rising sales volumes, giving glossy prospects for the industry.

June’s rosy figures have spurred a spectacular growth in first-half sales volumes, boosting them up to 104,492 units, representing an on-year jump of 60 per cent.

At this pace, VAMA forecasts that car consumption will hit the 220,000 unit mark by the end of the year.

Which car models have been the best sellers in the period?

The management board at Thaco must have been delighted with the company’s powerful truck sales reaching 17,000 over the first six months. The figure makes up for nearly half of its total sold volume, and signifies an increase of 93 per cent on-year.

Kia has sold 8,456 units, performing a 72 per cent jump on-year, while Mazda followed almost head-to-head, selling 8,175 sedan units. Mazda has been particularly impressive, as these figures show a 125 per cent jump on-year.

At Ford Vietnam, the best-seller continued to be the Ranger pickup line with 3,392 units sold in the first half of the year, a 106 per cent jump on-year.

The Ranger has been the company’s best-selling model in Vietnam last year as well.

At TMV, the best-selling models were Vios sedans with more than 6,200 units, nearly double the figure for the same period last year. The SUV models – Fortuner and Innova – came second with over 4,600 and 4,400 units, respectively, up 21-22 per cent on-year.

In addition to the common car segment, high-end models also reported upbeat sales figures for the first half of the year. Mercedes Benz Vietnam announced the sale of 1,764 units across a range of models, representing a 59 per cent hike. Lexus reported record sales of nearly 600 units, growing 284 per cent on-year.