70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / Economy / Industry
Vietnam leading car dealers struggle with Covid-19 impacts
Ngoc Thuy 08:30, 2021/02/19
While car prices in 2020 were significantly lower compared to the pre-Covid-19 period, customers had become more cautious in spending, leading to an 8% year-on-year drop in car sales to 296,634 units.

Major car dealers in Vietnam, including Savico, Haxaco and City Auto, posted modest return on sales (ROS) of 1-2% in 2020, mainly due to customers tightening their belt amid a difficult Covid-19 year.

 Customers at a car dealer center in Le Van Luong street. Photo: Pham Hung

“The pandemic had led to fierce competition in car prices, causing a downturn in the company’s business performance,” stated Savico in its financial statement.

Savico, a distributor of major car brands of Toyota, Volvo, Honda, Mitsubishi, recorded the highest revenue among the three with VND16.13 trillion (US$700.2 million), down 12% year-on-year, and profit of VND224 billion (US$9.72 million), or ROS of 1.38%.

While car prices in 2020 were significantly lower compared to pre-Covid-19 period, customers had become more cautious in spending, leading to an 8% year-on-year drop in car sales to 296,634 units, data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) noted.

City Auto, a major distributor of Ford and Huyndai, suffered a same fate with a decline of 11% year-on-year in revenue to VND5.67 trillion (US$246.1 million) and net loss of over VND4 billion (US$173,800).

Last year, City Auto predicted a challenging year of 2021 for the automobile industry following a sharp drop in market demand.

In a letter to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, City Auto attributed its negative business performance to lower car sales volume.

In contrast, Haxaco, a leading Mercedes-Benz car dealer in Vietnam, recorded a rise of 8% year-on-year in revenue to VND5.57 trillion (US$241.8 million) and after-tax profit of VND125 billion (US$5.42 million), up 150% year-on-year.

A senior official at Haxaco said the firm took advantage of the government's policy of reducing 50% of the registration fee for domestically-produced cars to boost sales revenue. However, Haxaco’s ROS remained at a modest rate of 2.24%.

A study from SSI Securities Corporation suggested 2021 could start the upward trend of Vietnam’s automobile industry with a 16.3% year-on-year growth rate in terms of car sales number, citing high demand from the domestic market for cars.

RELATED NEWS
TAG: Vietnam car dealers Covid-19 pandemic nCoV automobile industry Mercedes Benz Hyundai Savico Haxaco Toyota
Other news
16:01, 2024/03/28
FDI in Vietnam on the rise in Q1
Singapore remains the top investor with a total investment capital of over $2.5 billion, up more than 51% from the same period last year.
04:55, 2024/03/27
Vietnam takes strong actions to attract semiconductor investment
Over 300 international businesses and 600 delegates attended the Vietnam Global Manufacturing 2024.
20:40, 2024/03/26
Vietnam's favorable factors hold promise for real estate growth
According to Savills, foreign investors are increasing their interest in retail and hotels and traditional segments such as residential and offices.
20:14, 2024/03/26
US urged to recognize Vietnam as a market economy
The US expresses its strong support for Vietnam's development in high-tech sectors, energy transition, climate change adaptation, and dealing with the legacy of war.
21:43, 2024/03/25
MICE tourism: Vietnam's lucrative “golden market” unveiled
Vietnam's MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) tourism has been undergoing a qualitative and quantitative transformation in recent years, according to experts in the field.
18:57, 2024/03/23
Vietnamese data center market to hit $1.26 billion by 2030
A double-digit growth rate (around 11%) is forecast for the Vietnamese data center market until 2030.