A total of 19,081 units were sold in May, compared to 11,761 units in April, according to the latest report by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

However, sales in May was still 30 percent lower than the same period last year, VAMA said.

Passenger cars accounted for 68 percent of the sales and the rest was made up of commercial and multi-purpose vehicles. Forty-two percent of the cars sold in May were imported.

Local manufacturer Truong Hai (Thaco) remained the market leader, accounting for 31.4 percent of sales, followed by Toyota, with 22.4 percent, Honda with 14.6 percent and Ford with 10 percent.

Total January-May car sales fell 34 percent year on year to 79,396 units.

Major car makers like Toyota, Ford and Honda closed their factories and dealerships for two weeks in April in compliance with a government order to combat the pandemic.

Last year car sales had risen 11.7 percent year to 322,322 units.