Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) announced that vehicle sales of its members reached 13,537 in September, up 52 percent compared to the previous month.

Of the total sales, there were 8,347 passenger cars, up 34 percent month on month; 4,886 commercial vehicles, up 108 percent; and 304 specialised vehicles, slightly down 2 percent.

In terms of origin, the sales of domestically assembled and imported cars hit 7,316 units and 6,221 units, increasing 37 percent and 76 percent compared to August, respectively.

In the first nine months of this year, the total sales of the entire market of VAMA members reached a total of 188,937 vehicles of all types, an annual rise of 5 percent.

Of which, there were 129,896 passenger cars, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3 percent; 54,920 commercial cars, up 19 percent; and 4,121 specialised cars, up 56 percent.

The above January-September sales did not fully reflect the entire Vietnamese car market because the brands of Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo did not disclose their figures.

Also in this period, VinFast announced its September sales of 3,497 vehicles. Accumulated from the beginning of 2021 until now, VinFast has provided a total of 25,527 cars to customers.

In addition, TC Motor sold 4,079 Hyundai vehicles in September, down 87 percent compared to the previous month, bringing its total cumulative sales in the first nine months to 44,327 vehicles of all kinds.

In general, the officially announced sales from VAMA, TC Motor and VinFast totalled 21,113 vehicles of all kinds last month. Between January and September, the three companies provided a total of 258,791 vehicles of all kinds to customers across the country.

Looking at the sales of automobile brands in Vietnam last month, TC Motor secured the first place. This was followed by VinFast, Toyota, Kia, Ford, and Mazda.

Meanwhile, a look at the Vietnamese auto market in September showed that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sales of VAMA members in August only reached 8,884 cars, down 45 percent compared with the previous month.

August was the fifth month in a row that the sales of VAMA members fell and also the month with the lowest sales record in the Vietnamese automobile market since 2015.

Businesses said that the growth in sales last month was due to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlled thanks to the Government's pandemic prevention measures.

At the same time, many provinces and cities across the country have relaxed social distancing after months of implementing pandemic prevention and control to enter a new normal, which has boosted car sales.

Some experts are very optimistic because of the above growth rate and the fact that the pandemic situation is now under control. The three months remaining in this year are the peak shopping period. The Vietnamese auto market could grow at double digits by the end of the year. However, sales will not be as expected because the market has spent nearly two-thirds of the year being heavily impacted by the pandemic. In the coming time, car-selling agencies and auto manufacturers are likely to continue to launch stimulus programmes and introduce new car models to improve revenue.

Most consumers, as well as many car manufacturers, expect the Government to agree to a 50 percent reduction in registration fees as proposed by businesses two months ago. Such a reduction would remove difficulties for businesses and customers as well as stimulate shopping demand in the last months of the year amid the pandemic./.