Thailand surpassed Indonesia last year to become Vietnam’s largest car exporter with imports from the country accounting for 45 percent in quantity and 40.5 percent in value.

The General Department of Customs (GDC) reported that Vietnam imported 118,942 CBU (complete built unit) cars in 2023, worth $2.83 billion. The figures, compared with 173,467 cars and $3.84 billion in import turnover, demonstrated a sharp fall of 31.5 percent and 26.3 percent, respectively.

There were some changes in the origin of imports in 2023. Thailand replaced Indonesia to become the biggest car supplier for Vietnam.

As many as 53,942 cars worth $1.14 billion were imported to Vietnam from Thailand, a 25.1 percent decrease in quantity and 20.3 percent in value compared with 2022.

The imports from Thailand accounted for 45 percent in quantity and 40.5 percent of total value. The average price of the imports from Thailand was $21,100 per car (VND520 million).

The models most wanted by Vietnamese included Toyota brands Corolla Cross, Camry, and Corolla Altis, and some versions of Fortuner, Ford Everest, Honda HR-V, Civic, Mazda2, CX 30, CX-3 and Forester Subaru.

Indonesia has fallen into the second position on the list of biggest exporters with 42,676 cars exported to Vietnam in 2023, valued at $607.55 million, down by 41 percent in quantity and 42 percent in value.

Regarding market share, imports from Indonesia accounted for 35.8 percent in quantity and 21.5 percent in Vietnam’s total CBU car import turnover. The average unit price was relatively low, approximately $14,200 per car (VND350 million).

Imports from Indonesia decreased because some auto manufacturers have begun assembling best-selling car models in Vietnam, such as Toyota Veloz Cross and Hyundai Creta. 

China was the third biggest car exporter to Vietnam in 2023, with 11,002 products coming from the country, worth $394.2 million, down 36.5 percent in quantity and 44.8 percent in value compared with 2022. 

Chinese cars accounted for 9.25 percent of total amount and 13.9 percent of total CBU import turnover of Vietnam.

Unlike Thailand and Indonesia, which mostly exported sedans, vehicle imports from China were mostly trucks and specialized vehicles which had relatively high unit prices, $35,800 per car (VND880 million).

As such, three neighboring countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and China alone, accounted for 90.5 percent of Vietnam’s total car imports. The remaining 9.5 percent of market share is being held by France, the US, Germany, the UK, South Korea, Japan and India.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that total domestically assembled car output in 2023 reached 347,400, a drop of 12.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

Viet Nam Net