Vehicle Sales Recovering in Vietnam
Hyundai Motor Co. came in first in vehicle sales in Vietnam in the first quarter, surpassing Toyota of Japan.
Hyundai Thanh Cong Vietnam Manufacturing Corp. (HTMV), a joint venture of Hyundai Motor in Vietnam, sold 15,362 units in the first quarter of this year, 1,614 units more than Toyota’s 13,748, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Aossication (VAMA) said on April 15.
Hyundai Motor's sales in the first quarter fell 8.5 percent from the same period of last year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, but in March alone, the automaker sold 5,086 units, 17 percent more than the previous year, showing a recovery in sales. Toyota's sales in the first quarter went down 28 percent from the same period of last year.
Models that led Hyundai's sales growth were the compact models Accent and Grand i10. The Accent sold 4,440 units in the first quarter, accounting for 28.9 percent of the total sales. Its sales in March also increased 33 percent from the previous month. The Grand i10 sold 3,860 units.
As Vietnam's economy keeps growing with the incomes of Vietnamese people on the rise, sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are on a steady increase. The Santa Fe sold 1,855 units, and the Tucson and the Kona 1,817 and 1,486 units, respectively.
Hyundai Motor sold 79,568 units in Vietnam in 2019, outclassing Toyota (79,328 units) and claimed the first spot in annual sales volume for the first time.