Car sales are difficult due to 'ghost month', imported cars still dominate

The "ghost month" (the 7th lunar month) causes car purchases to drop, but imported cars still dominate. Despite the drop in sales, many imported car models continue to be popular.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association has just reported that car sales in August decreased quite sharply - Photo: CONG TRUNG

Car market slows down due to the 7th lunar month

According to a report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), the Vietnamese automobile market in August 2025 recorded a sharp decrease compared to the previous month, but still maintained slight growth compared to the same period.

Total sales of VAMA members reached 25,973 vehicles in August, down 18% compared to July, but still up 3% compared to the same period last year.

Of which, passenger cars decreased by 22%, commercial vehicles decreased by 5% and specialized vehicles decreased by 53%. Accumulated in the first 8 months of 2025, sales reached 220,733 vehicles, a sharp increase of 16.8% over the same period in 2024. Notably, commercial vehicles and specialized vehicles recorded high growth rates of 33% and 58%, respectively.

However, August falls in the "ghost month" (the 7th lunar month), causing purchasing power to decrease significantly.

Many popular car models such as Mitsubishi Xpander and Xforce have gone from 2,000 cars/month to only about 900 cars. Some car models even sold less than 10 cars, such as Honda Accord 3 cars, Corolla hybrid 4 cars or Kia Morning 5 cars.

Imported cars surpass domestically assembled cars

A notable point is that for 6 consecutive months, the number of imported cars sold has always exceeded that of domestically assembled cars. In August alone, imported cars reached 13,302 units, nearly 700 more than the 12,671 assembled cars.

Since the beginning of the year, imported cars reached 115,242 units, up 21.5% over the same period, while domestically assembled cars reached 105,491 units, up 13%. This shows that Vietnamese consumers still prioritize choosing imported cars.

In the context of declining purchasing power, car companies are pushing to launch new products and launch strong promotions to stimulate demand.

On September 11, Skoda introduced the B-class sedan Slavia, the 4th model in Vietnam, and the 2nd product assembled domestically at the Thanh Cong factory in Quang Ninh . With 3 versions priced from 468 to 568 million VND, Slavia directly competes with Toyota Vios, Hyundai Accent and Honda City.

Many companies simultaneously reduced prices and supported registration fees. Toyota applied incentives of up to 100% of registration fees for Vios, Veloz Cross, Avanza Premio (equivalent to 54-75 million VND). Some models such as Corolla Cross, Camry, Fortuner also had their listed prices reduced by 8-12 million VND.

Ford is not far behind with a 100% registration fee incentive program for Ranger Sport, Wildtrak and 50% for Ranger Raptor, XLS...

Auto experts say that after the seventh lunar month, along with a series of policies supporting fees, preferential interest rates and the appearance of new cars, the Vietnamese auto market will regain its vibrant rhythm in the fourth quarter, the peak shopping season at the end of the year.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kho-ban-xe-vi-thang-co-hon-xe-nhap-khau-van-chiem-uu-the-2025091215001158.htm