Vietnam’s new vehicle market declined by 24% to 28,957 units in October 2026 from 37,910 units in the same month last year, according to data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA). The data include retail sales by VAMA members and sales of imported vehicles by non-members. They do not include locally assembled vehicles by non-member companies such as VinFast and Hyundai.
The sharp market decline came despite the latest government data showing that GDP growth accelerated to almost 10% year-on-year in the third quarter, up from an upwardly revised 8.8% in the second quarter, with all sectors of the economy performing strongly.
In the first ten months of 2026, the vehicle market expanded by 7.5% to 310,986 units from 289,331 units in the same period last year, driven by strong, broad-based economic growth in the country. Sales of light passenger vehicles increased by 5% to 212,107 units year-to-date from 202,204 units a year earlier, while commercial vehicle sales increased by over 13% to 98,879 units from 87,127 units.
Sales by local automotive group Truong Hai increased by 8% to 75,656 units in the first ten months of 2026, including a 32% rise in Kia sales to 26,546 units and a 2% increase in Mazda sales to 25,154 units, while commercial vehicle sales under the Thaco brand declined by over 3% to 21,191 units.
Toyota reported an 8% sales rise to 60,110 units year-to-date; while Mitsubishi’s sales surged by 13% to 34,111 units; Ford 32,914 units (-15%); and Honda 17,594 units (-17%). VinFast reported separately that its domestic battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales surged by 61% to 200,593 units in the ten-month period, while Hyundai’s sales fell by 5% to 38,834 units.
The Vietnamese government recently confirmed that it will extend the current registration tax exemption and preferential consumption tax measures for BEVs, which were due to expire in February 2027, until 2030.
GlobalData expects total sales of light vehicles in Vietnam to increase by 14% to 641,000 units this year, after growing by 20% to 562,000 units in 2025, driven by continued strong economic growth and rising consumer demand.
