Vietnam car imports down 11% in November

In November, Vietnam imported 12,237 cars worth US$273 million, down 10.4% month-on-month in volume and 3.6% in value, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC).

Data: GDVC. Chart: Ngoc Thuy.

According to the GDVC, 90% of imported cars in Vietnam in November came from Thailand, Indonesia and China, with the corresponding numbers of 5,927, 3,823 and 1,204, respectively.

Overall, 92,261 cars were imported to Vietnam during the 11-month period, down 30.5% year-on-year. 

Upon breaking down, the country imported 68,104 passenger cars, or cars with less than nine seats, accounting for 73.8% of total cars imported, and 18,091 trucks, down 34.3%.

Customs statistics also showed that car accessories and parts worth US$427 million were imported into Vietnam in November, up 8.2% month-on-month. Suppliers of those products were mainly from South Korea with US$113 million, up 1% month-on-month; Thailand with US$86 million, up 2%; Japan with US$80 million, up 11.24%; China with US$75 million, up 30%.

Overall, accessories and parts imported to Vietnam during the 11-month period reached US$3.5 billion, down 8.3% year-on-year.

Data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) revealed the number of cars sold in Vietnam increased by 9% month-on-month and 22% year-on-year to 36,359 units in November.

In the first 11 months of 2020, car sales in Vietnam dropped 14% year-on-year to 246,768 units across all segments.

Sales of domestically assembled cars reached 158,306 units during the period, down 7% compared to the same period of last year, while imported completely-built-units (CBUs) totaled 90,462 units (-24%).