Automakers in the country are running their factories at full capacity to meet surging demand, which is in stark contrast to sombre forecasts made earlier this year, the Saigon Times Daily reported.

Toyota had earlier expected to sell 600 Corolla Altis 2014 units a month but has secured up to 1,400 orders only three weeks after this model was launched on the local market.

Toyota Vietnam said with the soaring demand, customers will have to wait for at least one month to take delivery.

The Japanese automaker has sold 6,300 Vios 2014 units since this model made its debut in the first quarter of this year but there are now more than 1,700 firm orders for the company to fulfil.

The number of Yaris 2014 units sold in June-September was 908, tripling the average sales of the old Yaris model.

Toyota Vietnam said its factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc is running at full capacity. It takes two to three months for auto parts to be supplied by foreign firms for the company to assemble.

In the first nine months of this year, Ford Vietnam sold more than 9,200 units, up a whopping 68 percent year-on-year.
According to the Daily, General Director of Ford Vietnam Jesus Metelo Arias forecast the company’s total sales in all of this year would exceed 10,000 units, a target that Ford Vietnam has never reached before.

The customers who have placed orders for Transit, Ranger and EcoSport models have to wait until this December to take delivery.

Honda Vietnam has had more than 1,000 orders for its compact City car, which doubled the company’s earlier estimate for the model introduced one month ago.

Truck sales are also faring well. Buyers of Isuzu Vietnam’s heavy trucks have to wait until next March to have their orders fulfilled while customers buying Fuso trucks from Mercedes-Benz should wait until the start of next year.

According to the Vietnam Auto Manufacturers Association (VAMA), the nation’s auto sales amounted to 106,700 units as of the end of last month, rising 39 percent against the same period last year with sedans and trucks accounting for 40 percent and 36 percent respectively. The association estimated the whole year’s sales at nearly 145,000 units.-VNA