In the first quarter, Vietnam imported 17,168 complete vehicles from China, a year-on-year increase of 73.3%. It surpassed Thailand in quantity for the first time and rose to Vietnam's second largest source of complete vehicles...

According to the latest report of the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam, in the first quarter of 2026,the total number of complete vehicles imported by Vietnam reached 56,012, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%. During the same period, the total import value was approximately US$1.33 billion,and the average import value of bicycles was approximately US$23,748, or approximately 600 million VND. Customs statistics also mentioned that Vietnam's consumer preferences are still significantly concentrated in the affordable price range, with passenger cars accounting for about 65% of vehicle imports.

The more noteworthy change comes from the ranking of suppliers. The report shows that in the first quarter of 2026, Vietnamimported 17,168 complete vehicles from China, a year-on-year increase of 73.3%. It surpassed Thailand in quantity for the first time and rose toVietnam's second largest source of complete vehicles. Vietnam media attributed this round of growth to the "collective influx of passenger car brands beyond the advantages of trucks"-brands such as BYD, MG, Linkages, and GAC in the Vietnam market has rapidly increased; at the same time, some European car companies (such as Volkswagen) have turned to import "Made in China" models from Vietnam, which has objectively further increased the proportion of cars from China.

The rise in China contrasts with the decline in Thailand. In the first quarter, Vietnam imported 13,077 vehicles from Thailand, a year-on-year decrease of 18.7%. The report quoted industry trends as explaining that after some brands (such as Subaru and Suzuki) closed their assembly plants in Thailand, their supply strategies shifted to direct imports from Japan; at the same time, more car companies have focused the layout of key models on local expansion of production in Vietnam or introduction of assembly lines. For example, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-3 and other models no longer rely on vehicle imports as before, thus reducing Thailand's external supply space for complete vehicles.

Despite the changes in the rankings of China and Thailand,Indonesia still maintains the lead. Customs data shows that Indonesia supplied 23,402 vehicles to Vietnam in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 27.5%, and continues to rank as the largest source of complete vehicle imports in Vietnam. The Vietnam industry believes that the superposition of "more modern China models" and "more practical and price-competitive Indonesian models" is increasing the intensity of market competition and forcing the previously dominant Thai products to make adjustments in configuration, pricing and channels.

written in the end

The growth in vehicle imports in Vietnam in the first quarter is not surprising. What is surprising is the growth rate of China cars and the symbolism of "surpassing Thailand": it shows that Vietnam's imported car supply chain is being rearranged, and consumers are also using their wallets to vote for new brands. For China's second-hand car exports, this is a window period that is more conducive to "focusing on brand and service"-the Vietnam market is not short of cars, but also stable delivery, transparent vehicle conditions and a reliable after-sales system. Only by doing these three things in a solid manner can the attention brought by "new car loading" be transformed into continuous orders for second-hand business.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

[Disclaimer] The content of this website (including pictures and texts) originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Respect the rights and interests of originality, and select content is only used for information sharing. If copyright disputes are involved, please contact us to handle them in a timely manner