Ford Vietnam Limited, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and Song Cong Diesel Company, has announced it will cease assembling Tourneo cars in the Southeast Asian country from the middle of this year because of sluggish consumption induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The firm attributed the slow business to the COVID-19 impacts on tourism and hospitality, both of which are key segments the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) targets.

Despite the suspension of the assembling business, Ford Vietnam affirmed that the Tourneo cars already launched onto the market will still enjoy the same warranty and service policy from the brand.

In order to push the buying power that has been weakened by the ongoing pandemic, Ford Vietnam, like many other automobile companies, has launched different discount and promotion programs.

Ford Vietnam gives customers a direct cash discount of VND20-75 million (US$865-3,243) for purchasing certain car models.

The authorized distributors of Subaru and Volkswagen cars in Vietnam as well as the local Truong Hai Automobile Company (THACO) have jumped on the bandwagon to attract customers with discounts and promotions.

Some brands have still reported growth and sold thousands of units on a monthly basis.

Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup on April 12 announced that its carmaking business VinFast handed over 2,717 Lux A2.0 and Fadil cars to customers in April, up 16.6 percent from the previous month.

Fadil car sales hit 1,500 units, marking an increase of 18.8 percent.

TC Motor, a subsidiary of Thanh Cong TST Group specializing in distributing Hyundai Motor vehicles in Vietnam, announced in its April sales report that Hyundai car sales reached 6,538 units, taking its January-April sales to 22,424 units.

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