Car market slumps due to COVID-19

March 12, 2020 | 17:46

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The consumption of cars of less than nine seats decreased by 30 per cent while bus consumption fell by 47 per cent compared to the first two months of 2019.

The car market has been hit dearly by the disruptions of the COVID-19 epidemic

Data released by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) and other manufacturers showed that car sales in the first two months declined sharply against last year.

In February, sales of the whole automobile market reached 17,616 cars, including 12,471 passenger cars (down 3 per cent), 4,812 commercial vehicles (up 74 per cent), and 333 specialised vehicles (up 49 per cent) compared to January.

Domestically-assembled car production reached 11,697 vehicles, up 22 per cent over the previous month and the number of imported cars was 5,919, down 4 per cent.

However, for the whole two months, total sales of the whole market decreased by 27 per cent on-year. In particular, passenger cars under nine seats decreased by 30 per cent, commercial vehicles decreased by 17 per cent, and specialised vehicles increased by 9 per cent.

By the end of February, domestically-assembled car sales decreased by 20 per cent while imported cars decreased by 38 per cent compared to the same period last year. This decline is attributed to disruption from the novel coronavirus outbreak, difficulties in the supply of imported spare parts, and falling purchasing demand.

For example, Honda Vietnam only sold 1,406 cars (down 27 per cent), while Hyundai brand sold 4,332 vehicles (down 27.2 per cent). However, Toyota Vios still delivered 2,468 cars to customers. This achievement also helped Toyota grow in February as the firm sold a total of 4,682 vehicles, 19.3 per cent higher than the 3,923 sold in January.

By Nam Duong

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