According to Deloitte, with a population of 100 million and increasingly high income per capita (now $5,000 per annum), Vietnam appears to be one of the hottest automobile markets in Southeast Asia.

Encouraged by the success gained by Japanese, South Korean, European and American automobile manufacturers, Chinese have flocked to Vietnam offering models in different market segments.

The year 2023 saw the appearance of Wuling Hongquang Mini EV, positioned as a mini electric car to travel within the city. Haima returned to Vietnam with Hiama 7X-E model which competes with Mitsubishi Xpander and Toyota Veloz Cross in the seven-seat MPV market segment.

In June 2024, MG launched MG EV4, a model competing in a very small market segment of B-SUV with VinFast VF 7 and a series of petrol-run cars, including Hyundai Creta, KIA Seltos, Toyota Yaris Cross, Mitsubishi Xforce, Mazda CX-30, Honda HR-V, and Lynk & Co 06.

Most recently, BYD, the largest Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, introduced tSeal, Atto 3 and Dolphin, which compete with other luxury models, B+ size SUV/Crossovers and B size hatchbacks.

Sources said that more Chinese brands will appear in the domestic market in July, including Aion, a brand of GAC, which may introduce SUV models. Also, SAIC may introduce Bingo, a Mini EV model, and small-size electric Baojun Jep.

The Vietnamese market has and will receive more than 10 electric vehicle models from China in only one year. The high number of Chinese brands shows that Vietnam is a market with great potential that they cannot ignore.

What if more Chinese cars arrive?

Analysts say the appearance of Chinese electric cars in Vietnam will enliven the domestic market, which will benefit Vietnamese customers. However, they don’t think Chinese cars will exist in the Vietnamese market for a long time.

The massive number of Chinese car models offered recently has reminded them of the Chinese motorbike wave which occurred 20-25 years ago when there were surprisingly low prices that encouraged Vietnamese to buy. However, the products were later excluded from the domestic market because of the weak engine, low durability and low quality.

Nguyen Thanh Hai (Hai Kar), a well known car expert, said cars nowadays have higher value, and electric cars need many special things to sell well in Vietnam.

“Using electric cars is costly. Develping charging stations remains a big problem in Vietnam. I think it would be very difficult to create a Chinese electric car wave like the Chinese motorbike wave in the past."

At this time, except for VinFast, other automobile manufacturers have not built fast charging stations, including luxury manufacturers. While VinFast has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a charging network, other manufacturers have not. 

Unlike cars using internal combustion engines, electric cars need in-depth investment, especially sale agents and infrastructure. But Chinese manufacturers have not done this.

BYD Asia-Pacific CEO Liu Xueliang said at a ceremony launching the BYD brand in HCMC recently that the manufacturer would have 50 sale agents nationwide by 2025. However, the largest Chinese manufacturer said it didn’t intend to develop charging stations in Vietnam, and customers will use charging stations developed by third parties.

This disappointed many people, because BYD always states that it is the best selling manufacturer in China.

According to marketing expert Nguyen Van Phuong, Chinese cars are diverse in design and are present in various market segments. However, whether Chinese cars are accepted in Vietnam will depend on the charging station network and brand positioning.

Chinese cars and BYD in particular are at a disadvantage compared with VinFast which has a charging network in all provinces and major cities.

Chinese brands are not the favorite brands in Vietnam. BYD’s new models such as Dolphin (VND659 million) and Atto 3 (VND766 and VND886 million) are relatively highly priced compared with rivals in the same market segments.

Hoang Hiep