Haxaco reported that it obtained revenue of VND5.552 trillion in 2021, the same as 2020, but its post-tax profit was VND160 billion, or 28 percent higher. This was the highest profit in the company’s history.

Haxaco is a distributor of Mercedes cars and holds the largest market share in Vietnam with four sales agents in Hanoi and HCM City. The company recently began distributing Chinese MG cars as well. 

A representative of Haxaco said the company had a tough year 2021. In June-September, nearly all sales agents had to close and the company took a loss of VND33 billion. However, when reopening in early Q4, car sales soared with revenue three times higher than Q3, reaching VND2.15 trillion and post-tax profit VND125 billion. The prosperity in Q4 led to a profit of hundreds of billions of dong in 2021. 

City Auto, the largest Ford car distributor in Vietnam, reported that it sold 4,580 cars in 2021. Car sales made up 93 percent of the company’s total revenue (VND4.2 trillion), while the remaining revenue came from car parts sales and services. 

City Auto reported a gross profit of VND290 billion, of which VND172 billion was from car sales, and a post-tax profit of VND52 billion. It is estimated that the company collected VND915 million from each car sold and made a profit of VND37.5 percent, which means a gross profit margin of 4 percent.  

City Auto leaders said that car sales in 2021 were just half of the yearly plan. The pandemic caused disruption of the supply chain, but thanks to the recovery of demand in Q4, the business prospered and helped the company obtain good profits for  2021. 

Meanwhile, Savico, which has 50 sales agents throughout the country and distributes cars of different brands (Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Volvo, Fuso, Mitsubishi, Honda and Suzuki), reported a high net profit of VND75.5 billion in Q4 after took a loss in the previous quarter. 

In 2021, Savico obtained revenue of VND14.122 trillion, a decrease of 12 percent compared with 20920 and a post-tax profit of VND144 billion. 

As such, Savico could implement 90 percent of its 2021 plan. The figure was just 38 percent after the first nine months of the year. Thanks to the recovery of the automobile market in Q4, the company nearly completed the yearly plan. 

Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation (VEAM) reported profit of VND5.1 trillion in total, contributed by automobile and motorbike joint ventures, including Honda Vietnam, Toyota Vietnam and Ford Vietnam.

Bright prospects

According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), 36,962 cars were sold in March 2022, an increase of 60 percent over February 2022 and 17 percent over March 2021. 

Of this, Thanh Cong Group, which manufactures Hyundai products, sold 7,069 cars in March and 18.670 cars of different kinds in the first three months of the year. VinFast sold 3,471 products in March and 6,728 in the first three months of the year 

In March 2022, a total of 47,502 products were sold, raising the total number of cars sold in the first three months of the year to 115,904 cars of different kinds. This figure does not include other brands such as Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo. 

Unlike the previous year when inventories were high, the first three months of 2022 witnessed a shortage in supply, not only for domestically assembled cars but CBU imports as well. 

Analysts attribute the sharp rise in car sales to a 50 percent reduction in vehicle registration tax, applied to domestically made products. 

The Industry and Trade Information Center predicted bright prospects for 2022 with the firm recovery of the automobile market. Social distancing no longer exists. It is estimated that automobile demand will increase by 16 percent. This, plus the low car ownership ratio in Vietnam and the vehicle registration tax reduction (valid until the end of May), will help boost car sales.

Tran Thuy