More Vietnamese buy small CUVs

Sales of small CUVs in segments ranging from A+ to C- were 37,238 in the first seven months of this year.

Sales of B-segment sedans were 25,896 units as they yielded top spot to small CUVs. CUVs and SUVs have become popular globally in the last five years or so, and Vietnam is no exception.

The four biggest segments in the country are B-segment sedans, A-segment hatchbacks, small CUVs, and MPVs, all costing up to VND800 million (US$33,900).

Last year, they accounted for 226,000 vehicles for a 44.5% market share.The small CUV was in last spot in 2020, but has surged to the top this year. The biggest drop in sales was the cheapest A-segment hatchback.

In 2022 local automaker VinFast stopped selling its Fadil and the Toyota Wigo and Honda Brio were forced to because they did not have engines meeting Euro 5 emission standards.

There are currently three main categories of small CUVs: B-segment vehicles such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Honda HR-V; A+ segment vehicles such as Kia Sonet, Toyota Raize and VinFast VF 5 Plus; and B+ segment vehicles such as Toyota Corolla Cross and Mazda CX-30.

"Young customers are creating a trend of favoring models with high chassis, modern design and many options," a manager at a Hyundai dealer in HCMC said.

"Vehicles with many features and a similar price as B-segment sedans, such as A+ and B-segment CUVs are popular."

A Corolla Cross at a Toyota dealership in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nhan

Toyota has focused entirely on the small CUV segment. Truong Hai launched the Kia Seltos in 2020 and Sonet in 2021. In 2021 Mazda launched the CX-3 and CX-30.

In March 2022 Hyundai Thanh Cong replaced the discontinued Kona with the Creta imported from Indonesia.

Other CUVs have also appeared in the last two years, like the Nissan Kicks, Volkswagen T-Cross and VinFast VF e34 and VF 5 Plus.

The VF 3, Mitsubishi Xforce, VinFast VF 6, Omoda 5, and Jaecoo 7 are set to be launched in the near future.
Czechia’s Skoda will introduce a duo of SUVs. VinFast now sells all-electric CUVs and SUVs in segments ranging from A to E.

In the MPV group, after the success of Mitsubishi Xpander in Vietnam, Hyundai introduced the Stargazer, Truong Hai the Kia Carens and Honda the BR-V. MPVs from MG and Haima are soon set to make an appearance.

According to analysts, sales of CUVs will continue to grow at the cost of B-segment sedans and A-segment hatchbacks.