At the end of 2025, the preferential interest rates applied by banks for early-stage car loans still hovered between 6 and 8.5% per year. However, many banks have since raised these rates to 7-9% per year.
Currently, very few banks are willing to charge a 6% interest rate on new car loans.
Car loan interest rates have skyrocketed.
According to the survey, state-owned banks BIDV, Agribank, VietinBank and Vietcombank currently offer initial interest rates for the most common car loans between 7 and 8.4 percent per annum. More precisely, Agribank displays a rate from 7.8% per year; BIDV at 7.3% per year; VietinBank at 7.7% per annum; and Vietcombank from 8.4% per year. Most of these preferential rate periods are valid for a maximum of 12 months.
After 12 months, the interest rate will be variable and equal to the bank’s 12-month deposit interest rate plus a margin.
For private commercial banks, prime interest rates for initial auto loans are currently generally above 7% per annum, with a few exceptional cases offering up to 10-11% per annum.
Currently, several private banks offer competitive interest rates for car loans, such as VIB, which charges rates starting from 7.5%/year for the first 6 months and 8.3%/year for a term of 12 months, with loan limits of up to 85% of the car’s value.
Similarly, TPBank applies a fixed interest rate of 8%/year for 6 months and 9.5%/year for 12 months, after which it is variable based on the base interest rate plus a margin of 3.6%.
Both SHB and PGBank offer a fixed interest rate of 7.5% per annum for the first six months. In contrast, other banks, such as MB, charge interest rates of up to 9.5% per annum for car loans; Eximbank offers a rate of 9.25% per annum and MSB offers rates from 11% per annum.
For 100% foreign-owned banks, current auto loan interest rates range from 7.6% to 9.8% per annum.
Specifically, Woori Bank charges interest rates starting at 8.4% per annum for the first year and 9.6% per annum for a 2-year fixed rate loan. Shinhan Bank offers loan offers starting from 9% per annum for the first year and 9.5% per annum for a 2-year fixed rate loan, allowing you to borrow up to 80% of the vehicle’s value, for a maximum duration of 8 years.
Hay Hong Leong Bank currently offers car loans for purchases above VND300 million, with a preferential interest rate of 7.6% per annum in the first year and 8.6% per annum in the second year. At the end of this preferential period, the variable interest rate will increase by 0.99% per year in the first year, then by 1.69% per year from the fourth year.
Furthermore, UOB offers a preferential interest rate from 5.1% per annum. However, after the preferential period, the variable interest rate is calculated based on the base interest rate and can reach 13.2% per annum, plus a margin.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy of the Finance and Banking Department of Nguyen Trai University, most car loans offer short preferential periods, after which they switch to variable rates. When the cost of capital rises, interest rates adjust accordingly, creating a “lag effect”: borrowers only really feel the pressure after the prime period ends.
This is when many households are faced with sudden increases in their monthly payments, even though their initial financial plans had not anticipated these fluctuations.
Pressure from variable interest rates
Not only have initial interest rates increased slightly, but many people with auto loans are also reporting that the variable interest rates on these loans are also on the rise.
Mr. Hoang Nghia (32, An Khanh district) said that at the end of 2022, his family took out a loan of around 600 million dong from a bank for the purchase of a car, for a period of 84 months. At the time, he opted for a preferential interest rate of 9.59% per annum, fixed for the first three years. The family paid a deposit of 100 million dong, bringing the remaining balance to 500 million dong.
During the preferential interest rate period, his family had to pay between 9 and 11.9 million VND per month, including the principal (about 7 million VND) and interest. At the beginning of 2026, at the end of this period, the remaining debt will amount to approximately 240 million VND.
Before receiving official notification of the bank’s variable interest rate, his family had calculated that the remaining payments, including principal and interest, would amount to around VND8 million per month.
“However, with a variable interest rate of up to 12.99 percent per year, I was surprised to find that the amount payable was still VND10 million in the first payment, and it fluctuated between VND9 and 10 million in subsequent months, almost as much as when the interest rate was still preferential, even though the outstanding balance had decreased significantly,” Mr. Nghia said.
Just a week ago, Mr Nghia said the variable interest rate had continued to increase from 12.99% to 13.69% per annum. To protect themselves against the risks associated with a further rise in interest rates, his family plans to repay the loan in full.
Meanwhile, the family of Kim Thoa (29, Binh Thanh district) plans to borrow money to buy a car worth more than 700 million VND, with a plan to pay 50% upfront and borrow the remaining 50%.
Ms Thoa explained that with the first option, she received a 6% reduction on the price of the car, in exchange for a fixed interest rate of 8.9% for the first two years, then a variable rate from the third year. The second option had no initial discount, but offered a fixed interest rate of 7% for three years, after which it became variable.
Although the prime rate of 6% helps reduce upfront costs, amid rising interest rates and concerns about variable interest rates reaching 14-15% per year, Thoa favors a fixed interest rate for 3 years to better control the risk associated with borrowing costs.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, car loan interest rates have increased compared to the previous period. This increase is mainly explained by the increase in interest rates on deposits, aimed at strengthening the liquidity of the banking system.
However, unlike previous periods of marked tightening, this increase is a technical adjustment, reflecting an effort to strike a balance between financial stability and support for growth.
“There remains room for interest rates to rise, but the likelihood of a large increase is low. Interest rates are no longer cheap, but they remain within a controlled range,” Mr Huy said.
In this context, the expert believes that for those who have real financing needs, the current market remains favorable for making a decision. Interest rates have not yet reached their maximum, credit offers remain competitive and loan conditions have not tightened. However, the upward trend in interest rates could lead to an increase in the cost of capital if loans are deferred, while a return to the low interest rates of the previous period is unlikely in the short term.
For those wishing to take out a car loan, it is advisable to favor fixed rate offers for a period of at least 12 to 24 months, to choose loans with low margins in order to minimize future fluctuations and to ensure that monthly payments do not exceed a reasonable income threshold.
Furthermore, Mr. Huy also noted an increase in green credit offers within the banking system. These are not just financial products, but tools intended to guide consumer behavior. Buyers of electric or hybrid vehicles now benefit from more advantageous preferential interest rates and more flexible loan conditions.
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