AsemconnectVietnam - In February, sales of the entire Vietnamese automobile market increased by 14% compared to January and increased by 86% compared to February 2024. VinFast is still the absolute leading brand.

Despite many interruptions due to the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday, the automobile market in February still recorded signs of improvement. According to a report recently released by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), sales of VAMA members in February reached 21,606 units, up 14% compared to January and up 86% compared to February 2024.
The above number includes 14,549 passenger cars, up 2.5%; 6,775 commercial vehicles, up 56% and 282 specialized vehicles, down 17% compared to the previous month. In the first 2 months of 2025, 40,499 cars were sold by VAMA members, up 23% compared to the same period in 2024 (with 30,876 cars).
Vietnam’s booming auto market narrows gap with Thailand
Vietnam’s auto market is catching up in size with that of Thailand, with the gap narrowing by almost 80% last year. Thai auto sales exceeded Vietnam’s by 370,000 units in 2023, but the figure shrank to just 78,000 last year. Thai sales fell by 26% to 572,700 vehicles, but in Vietnam there was a 22% jump to 494,300. It was the fastest growing of the five biggest markets in ASEAN.
Indonesia led in sales, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Indonesia, however, saw a 14% decline, while Malaysia grew by only 2%. In Thailand, sales plummeted even as the economy grew at a sluggish 2.5% last year.
Banks imposed tighter lending conditions due to high household debt and reduced incomes resulted in declining spending power, according to a report by the Federation of Thai Industries, The Nation newspaper reported.
Auto manufacturing plummeted by 20% in volume terms to 1.47 million units, according to Reuters.
Vietnam on the other hand experienced robust growth thanks to the government’s incentives on vehicle registration fee and sellers’ discounts.
Chinese auto giant stakes its claim
Geely clearly demonstrated its green and sustainable direction with the all-electric Geely EX5, which stands out with its powerful 218-horsepower electric motor, 320 Nm of torque, and a 60.2 kWh battery capacity allowing the vehicle to travel up to 430 kilometres on a full charge.
Geely Auto, a leading automobile manufacturer based in China, officially entered the Vietnamese market with the launch of its brand and new vehicle models as well as announcement of its nationwide distribution network on March 21.
The Geely Coolray was officially unveiled at the event with three competitively priced versions, namely Standard sold at 538 million VND (21,000 USD), Premium 578 million VND, and Flagship 628 million VND. They feature a 1.5L turbocharged gasoline engine producing 177 horsepower and 255 Nm of torque, paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, allowing acceleration from 0-100 km/h in just 7.9 seconds. Notably, the vehicles come with an extensive warranty of up to five years or 150,000 kilometres.
Geely clearly demonstrated its green and sustainable direction with the all-electric Geely EX5, which stands out with its powerful 218-horsepower electric motor, 320 Nm of torque, and a 60.2 kWh battery capacity allowing the vehicle to travel up to 430 kilometres on a full charge. The EX5 takes only 6.9 seconds to reach speeds from 0-100 km/h and comes with fast-charging technology that allows a 30–80% charge in about 20 minutes, fully meeting the mobility needs of modern Vietnamese customers.
Honda’s motorcycle, auto sales surge
Honda Vietnam reported robust sales growth in February across both its motorcycle and automobile segments, with year-on-year increases of 61.7% and 43%, respectively.
The company sold 194,888 motorcycles in February, bringing its total sales for the 2024-2025 fiscal year (April 2024 to March 2025) to nearly 2.06 million units, a 7.4% rise compared to the same period last year.
In addition to domestic sales, Honda Vietnam exported 20,794 motorcycles to various international markets, further expanding its global footprint.
In the automobile segment, it sold 1,808 cars in February, up 43% from the same month in 2024. Since the start of the fiscal year, the firm has sold 25,782 cars, marking a year-on-year growth rate of 13.5%.
Sales of electric vehicles soar
Within just three years, electric car sales in Vietnam have surged nearly twenty-fold, showing that people in the country are increasingly favoring eco-friendly means of transport.
The popularity stems from the cars' advantages such as zero emissions, affordable prices, lower operating costs compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, and preferences offered by the government and vehicle manufacturers.
In a draft decree amending Decree No 10/2022/ND-CP dated January 15, 2022 on first-time registration tax, or FRT, sent by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to the government, it was highlighted that a zero percent FRT rate on electric cars (instead of 10-12 percent on gasoline and diesel cars with the same seating capacity) would reduce the cost of registering vehicles.
This has enhanced consumer access to electric cars and encouraged the use of this greener mode of transport.
Over three years of implementation, the number of electric cars registering for FRT has surged nearly 20 times, from 4,040 vehicles in the first 10 months of 2022 to 79,781 in 2024.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic