Vietnam's car imports surge by 219% in January

The country imported 14,457 completely built cars of all kinds with a total value of $314.5 million, according to data from the General Department of Customs.

Notably, Thailand has regained its position as the top importer of cars to Vietnam, surpassing Indonesia, with 6,693 cars imported and reaching a trade value of $125.47 million. 

Meanwhile, cars imported from Indonesia stood at second place with 6,179 units, valued at $89.7 million. The United States ranked third, followed by China in fourth place.

The average value of cars imported from Thailand to Vietnam was $18,764 per car, while cars imported from Indonesia were estimated to be around $14,516 per car.

 The four main markets - Thailand, Indonesia, the US, and China - accounted for over 94% of the total imported cars in the country in January.

Although car imports have been increasing in recent years, the investment of many automakers in production and assembly lines within Vietnam is expected to slow down the number of imported cars in 2023. 

For example, the domestically-assembled Toyota Veloz Cross and Avanza Premio have been officially introduced to Vietnamese consumers, while the Hyundai Creta is likely to be transferred to local assembly in the near future.

In 2022, Vietnam's car imports reached a record high of 173,467 cars of all types, with a total import value of over $3.8 billion for the year. 

While Indonesia surpassed Thailand in terms of the number of imported cars, Thailand still ranked number one in import value. 

Currently, the Vietnamese market is home to several notable imported cars such as the Mitsubishi Xpander, Hyundai Creta, Toyota Corolla Cross, Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid, and Ford Everest.