Vietnam electric motorbike market makes waves

Vietnam is the world's second-largest electric motorbike market, trailing China and accounting for 10% of the world’s sales in 2021, according to a world-famous motorcycle review site.

Electric motorbikes in Vietnam are growing 50% in terms of output and sales and will eventually surpass gasoline-powered motorbikes due to growing environmental concerns and surging gasoline prices, motorcyclesdata.com said in a new report.

The Vietnamese e-bike market is thriving, with the emergence of domestic makers like VinFast, Datbike, Arevo, and Pega, as well as foreign brands including Yadea, Dibao, and MBigo.

VinFast is taking the lead. Its sales have climbed significantly since the beginning of 2022, with an average of roughly 15,000 vehicles sold per month, three times higher than the same period in 2021, company data shows.

Yamaha Vietnam, a major player in gasoline motorcycle business, began manufacturing and assembling Yamaha Neo'S electric bikes in March 2022 at a factory in Hanoi, with a daily capacity of 50 vehicles.

Honda Vietnam, the biggest motorbike producer in Vietnam, is promoting the country's e-bike development by donating 180 electric motorcycles to the National Traffic Safety Committee and the University of Transport Technology for research purposes, as well as delivering 70 to Vietnam Post to test a delivery electric vehicle project.

Experts say the electric motorbike industry is growing, but challenges including speed, lack of charging stations, durability, mobility limits after each power charge, and battery usage policies will take time to resolve.

Electric vehicles, however, continue to benefit from tax and registration fee savings. This is a further plus for the electric motorbike sector to flourish and establish itself as a new trend.

Gasoline motorcycles have long been a part of Vietnamese people's transportation habits, meeting 80% of daily transport demand.

There have been many forecasts about motorbike market saturation in the country since 2019. Three consecutive years 2019-2021 saw a free fall of total market sales. It was 2.8 million in 2021, down 4.7% year-on-year, the lowest in 15 years and significantly down compared to 2018's 3.5 million and the all-time high of 4.4 million in 2011.

The lower sales in 2021 was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and price inflation.

Statistics show that Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers members including Honda, Piaggio, Suzuki, SYM and Yamaha sold 753,571 motorbikes in the first quarter of 2022, a 7.43% increase year-on-year.