Hanoi, April 11 -- Vietnam's automobile market shifted into high gear in March, with members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) reporting robust sales of 31,750 units, up 47% month-on-month and 16% year-on-year.

Passenger vehicles led the charge with 22,339 units sold, surging 53% from February. Commercial vehicles followed with 9,231 units, up 36%, while sales of special-purpose vehicles dipped 36%, totalling 180 units.

One standout trend was the sharp rise in completely built-up (CBU) imports, which saw sales climb 60% to 16,863 units. Meanwhile, domestically assembled vehicles also posted a gain of 35%, with 14,887 units delivered to customers.

VAMA's internal figures showed March sales of 26,079 vehicles, i...