Car sales rose by 23 per cent y-o-y in Novenmber to 30,540 units, according to a report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

The report showed that January-November sales reached 253,957 units, with giants such as Toyota, Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco), Ford and Honda claiming the majority of market share.

Domestic automaker Thaco now leads car sales in Viet Nam with 88,181 units sold in the first 11 months, up 9 per cent compared with the same period last year, of which Thaco Kia and Mazda reached 25,970 units and 29,871 units, increasing 30 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively. Sales of Thaco trucks were down 24 per cent at 26,432 units.

Toyota Motor Vietnam sold 56,864 units, up 6 per cent y-o-y. Honda Vietnam overtook Ford to take third spot with 23,994 sales, up 109 per cent. Meanwhile, Ford sold 20,677 units, falling 21 per cent.

Manufacturers such as Lexus, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, GM Vietnam, Isuzu, VEAM, Vinamotor and SAMCO all lost ground.

The decline of GM Vietnam is likely due to the sale of its factory in Ha Noi to Vingroup. The transfer of GM Vietnam’s operations, including the factory, an authorised dealer network and staffing is expected to be completed by the year-end.

Luxury brands Mercedes-Benz Vietnam and Lexus reported sales of 5,504 and 390 vehicles, down 12 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Increased taxes on luxury cars has been blamed for the demise in recent years.

According to VAMA statistics, the best-selling cars in the first 11 months of this year were the Toyota Vios, Innova E, Kia Morning, Kia Cerato, Mazda 3, Honda CR-V and Honda City. — VNS