New vehicle sales in Vietnam plunged a further 46% to 10,816 units in April 2020 from 20,127 units in the same month of last year, according to wholesale data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
This followed a 40% drop in March, resulting in a 35% decline in cumulative four month sales to 60,825 units from 93,591 units in the same period of last year with consumer and business activity held back by government measures to limit the spread of the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic.
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Economic growth slowed to 3.8% year on year in the first quarter from 7% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
In early May the Vietnamese government began to lift social distancing policies and reopened parts of the economy after almost two months of shutdown which it claimed had helped the country successfully bring the pandemic under control.
Economic growth, along with the local vehicle market, was likely to rebound in the coming months as the economic activity gradually returns to normal.
Sales of passenger vehicles fell by over 37% to 44,405 units in the first four months of 2020 from 70,589 units a year earlier, while commercial vehicle sales were down by just under 29% at 16,420 units from 23,002 units.
Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda and Peugeot and a significant player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a more than 34% drop in group sales to 20,469 units in the four month period. This included a 49% plunge in Mazda sales to 6,218 units and a more than 30% drop in Kia sales to 6,945 units.
Toyota remained the leading vehicle brand in the country, albeit with sales falling by close to 29% to 16,551 units, while Honda sales plunged by over 41% to 6,133 units. Mitsubishi Motors sales were down by over 14% at 5,877 units, underpinned by strong demand for the Xpander MPV.
