Saturday, May 17, 2025 - 07:25 PM
Vietnam led Southeast Asia’s auto sales growth in
Q1 2025, with a 24% year-on-year surge, outpacing larger markets
thanks to strong economic momentum and rising public investment, according
to Nikkei
Asia. Nikkei Asia data shows total sales across Southeast Asia’s five
biggest markets—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and
Vietnam—fell 1.7% to 732,898 vehicles. In Vietnam, hybrid vehicle
sales soared 80% to 2,562 units, driven by new models from Toyota and Suzuki.
Commercial vehicles and trucks also saw strong gains, rising 22% and
21% to 15,445 and 13,400 units, respectively, supported by a 19.8% jump in
public investment to $4.67 billion. “We expect Vietnam's passenger
car sales, excluding VinFast and some luxury brands, to grow 15% year
on year in 2025,” said Thuc Than, an analyst at Vietcap Securities.
“Our forecast does not take into account a possible negative outcome of the
tariff negotiations,” she added, warning that higher tariffs could pose risks
to growth.
Vietnam’s official auto sales stood at 118,813 vehicles, but
including VinFast’s 35,100 units and Hyundai’s 11,464 units, total sales would
surpass the Philippines’ 117,074 units. The Philippines saw solid 7% growth,
led by a 13.9% rise in commercial vehicle sales, even as passenger car sales
fell 13.7%. EV and hybrid sales accounted for 5.73% of the market. Thailand’s
market shrank 7% to 153,193 vehicles, with ICE passenger car sales down 14% and
pickup truck sales down 13%. EV sales, however, grew 19% to 22,737 units,
boosted by Chinese brands like BYD, which saw March sales jump nearly
threefold. Nikkei Asia writes that
despite the yearly decline, Thailand’s Q1 sales rose 14% quarter-on-quarter,
topping 150,000 units for the first time in a year, aided by price cuts and
promotions. Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s second-largest market, also slowed.
Sales fell 7.4% to 188,100 vehicles as backlogs cleared and the market
normalized. March sales rose slightly by 2.2%, supported by aggressive
marketing campaigns. Chinese brands are making rapid inroads in Malaysia’s EV
market. Proton’s first EV, the e.MAS 7, launched in December, has already
received over 5,500 orders, with a second model, the e.MAS 5, expected later
this year.
“The Chinese brands are offering very competitive and
affordable prices,” said Periasamy Arumugam of Great Wall Motors.
Jerry Chan of Jetour added, “Malaysian customers prefer big cars like SUVs,”
noting that Jetour plans to manufacture vehicles locally in Johor to meet
demand.
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