A Thaco factory.

The Vietnamese automobile market witnessed a significant sales decline in the first month of 2024, yet businesses and experts forecast that the market may see a breakthrough in the second half of the year.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) announced on January 22 that the total sales by its members reached 19,243 units in the month, down 50% month-on-month.

The number of domestically assembled vehicles sold was 9,783, down 59%, while that of imported completely built units (CBUs) also decreased by 36% compared to the previous month, reaching 9,460.

In addition to the above-mentioned situation, the market also sees the presence of many foreign manufacturers such as Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Haval, but they do not disclose their business results.

According to TC Group, the assembler and distributor of Hyundai vehicles in Vietnam, as January 2024 was near the Lunar New Year, consumers' tended to spare their money for holiday needs rather than automobiles, leading to the decline in the sales of Hyundai in particular and the whole market. The group predicted that the market will gradually stabilise, with expectations for higher sales growth in the following months.

Toyota Vietnam also assessed that the market situation in 2024 will still have many difficulties and challenges. In that context, the company and its dealer system will continue to make efforts to improve product and service quality to attract customers.

However, Ford Vietnam believed that the difficulties are only short-term, as the Vietnamese automobile market is still considered potential and attractive in the eyes of automobile manufacturers.

Economists forecast this market will grow 10% in 2024 against the previous year, or 428,000 units to be sold, with the recovery of the economy and the incentives from the Government.

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VNA