Vietnam’s new vehicle market expanded by 6.5% to 24,136 units in May 2026 from 22,658 units in the same month last year, according to wholesale data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA). The data do not include some major players in the market, including domestic automaker VinFast, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and other overseas brands.

In the first five months of 2026, the vehicle market expanded by 20% to 125,405 units from 104,780 units in the same period last year, driven by strong, broad-based economic growth in the country. The latest government data showed that GDP grew by 7.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, down moderately from a peak of 8.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Sales of light passenger vehicles increased by 18% to 84,740 units year-to-date, while commercial vehicle sales increased by 22% to 40,665 units. Truong Hai (Thaco) Group, the local assembler and distributor of several overseas brands and a major player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 15% sales increase to 38,736 units in this period. This includes a 12% increase in Thaco commercial vehicle sales to 11,253 units, while Kia sales surged by 29% to 13,057 units and Mazda sales were up by 10% to 12,937 units.

Toyota reported a 25% surge in sales to 28,916 units in the first four months of the year, while Ford’s sales rose by 5% to 18,491 units; Mitsubishi 18,559 units (+52%); and Honda 9,303 units (-4%). VinFast has yet to release its May sales data, but deliveries in the first four months of the year surged by 76% to 78,458 units, while Hyundai’s sales rose by 9% to 17,430 units in this period.

GlobalData expects sales of light vehicles in Vietnam, including all brands, to increase by 11% to 623,000 units this year, after growing by 20% to 562,000 units in 2025, driven by continued strong economic growth and rising consumer demand. The Vietnamese government announced last year that it will continue to exempt battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from the vehicle registration tax until the end of February 2027, while in January it cut the sales tax on hybrid vehicles by 30%.