VAMA members expect to sell about 260,000 units this year, a 10 per cent increase over last year.— Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Automakers sold 11,718 cars in Viet Nam in February, a 49 per cent drop over the previous month, a report released by the Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) said.

The sales comprised 6,446 passenger cars, 4,599 commercial cars and 673 special purpose vehicles, falling 54 per cent, 44 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.

The Truong Hai Automobile Joint-Stock Company (Thaco) took the lead in February, selling 4,184 vehicles, and claiming 37.5 per cent of the market share. It's followed by Toyota Motor Viet Nam with 2,367 units, equal to 21.1 per cent of the market share.

The VAMA report also showed that more than 9,200 locally assembled cars were sold in February, a 46 per cent fall over January. Meanwhile, 2,475 imported cars were sold last month, falling 57 per cent.

There were still familiar names among the top 10 best-sellers such as Vios, Morning, Innova and Fortuner as well as Mazda 3, while 660 units of the Ford Ranger pick-up were sold, taking the lead in its segment.

Speaking at a conference held last month, Chairman of VAMA Yoshihisa Maruta said VAMA members expected to sell about 260,000 units this year, a 10 per cent increase over last year.

He said it was hoped growth would be maintained this year, thanks to impetus from the market in 2015, and additional support from the government in terms of more stable policies. — VNS