Vietnam’s green push sparks e-bike race
Vietnam is witnessing a fierce race among producers of electric bikes and e-scooters as the country gears up to go green and meet its 2050 carbon neutrality target.
One of the outcomes of the green push is efforts by delivery service providers to partner with electric vehicle (EV) makers.
E-scooters gained the limelight recently when U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, paying a two-day (July 20-21) working visit to Vietnam, visited a Hanoi factory where Selex Motors, a five-year-old Vietnamese startup, makes e-scooters and batteries.
Climate change poses an existential threat to the world but also provides a “key economic opportunity” and way to build “greater resilience into our economies.
“The United States is also taking action now in countries to partner and support clean energy transitions in other nations. This includes Vietnam,” she added.
Selex is selling its e-scooters to Lazada, DHL, Baemin and other delivery businesses. The startup is looking to expand sales to other consumers and is touting its patented battery technology as compatible with 70% of e-scooters in the market.
Selex has raised $3 million this April in a convertible note round from the Asian Development Bank’s venture capital arm ADB Ventures and other investors. It said the funds go towards reducing carbon emissions in high-usage applications such as last-mile cargo and passenger transport in Vietnam.
The same month saw Selex embark on a partnership with South Korea-invested Baemin, a competitor of rideshare firm Gojek. Baemin shippers will use Selex Camel two-wheelers for the firm’s delivery services. Baemin said it expected the partnership to help drivers optimize operational costs, thanks to quick battery changes and smoke-free, noise-free services.
Selex’s rivals seeking to electrify Vietnam’s two-wheeler market of more than 70 million motorbikes include Dat Bike and VinFast. The latter, part of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, makes electric cars, electric buses, e-scooters and e-bikes while another subsidiary, VinES JSC, makes batteries and provides clean energy solutions, including battery energy storage systems (BESS).
This March, GSM (Green-Smart-Mobility) JSC, the electric car and motorbike rental and taxi service arm under Vingroup, partnered with rideshare service provider Be Group. GSM said it would invest in Be Group and help the latter grow into a multi-service platform, support its drivers to switch to electric vehicles conveniently, and improve service quality.
VinFast unveiled its first e-bike models July 22 at the 8Wonder music festival on July 22 hosted by the Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang on Tre Island in the beach town of Nha Trang. The music show featured American Charlie Puth, a multi-platinum singer, songwriter and producer of U.S. contemporary pop music.
VinFast plans to commercialize its young-generation e-bikes later this year. The company had premiered the models this January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It said that the four “concept vehicles” aimed to match diverse riding scenarios.
Two of the bikes featured mid-drive motors. The third was a hybrid-style commuter bike with a centrally-located mid-drive motor and the fourth was an electric mountain bike.
Market observers say that VinFast can expect fierce competition from Hong Kong-based Yadea Technology Group, which signed a memorandum of understanding this January to build a $100-million electric motorbike manufacturing plant in Bac Giang province near Hanoi.
The 23.2-hectare plant in Tan Hung Industrial Park will have an annual capacity of two million motorbikes and employ 3,500 people. The Hong Kong firm will also set up an electric motorbike research center at the IP.
Yadea became a top brand in Vietnam within a year of debut, which was November 2019.
Vietnamese emerging e-scooter maker Dat Bike is also a strong competitor in the decarbonization race. It launched a partnership with Gojek this March wherein the Indonesia-headquartered ride-hailing platform will use Dat Bike’s e-scooters in expanding its fleet. The two sides have deployed Dat Bike’s Weaver ++ models in Ho Chi Minh City.
- Read More
Germany energy firm wpd plans $180 mln wind power project in central Vietnam
Germany’s energy company wpd plans to invest VND4,600 billion ($181.62 million) in building a 143 MW wind power plant in Vietnam’s central coastal province of Binh Dinh.
Energy - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 10:21 pm GMT+7
BRICS – new key export market of Indonesia
Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports to the five major BRICS nations reached $84.37 billion in 2024, accounting for nearly 34% of the country’s total non-oil and gas export value, according to the country’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Southeast Asia - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 9:54 pm GMT+7
Vietnam refinery operator BSR hits $2.6 bln valuation in bourse debut
Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC, the operator of Vietnam’s first oil refinery Dung Quat, officially listed over 3.1 billion BSR shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Friday, marking a rare "blockbuster" debut on the major bourse in recent years.
Companies - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 6:59 pm GMT+7
Two remaining weak Vietnamese banks transferred to VPBank, HDBank
The State Bank of Vietnam, the country's central bank, on Friday announced the mandatory transfers of two "weak" private banks under its special control, GPBank and DongA Bank, to VPBank and HDBank respectively.
Banking - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 4:32 pm GMT+7
DPPA not applied to non-manufacturing consumers, Vietnam ministry insists
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade does not plan to extend the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism to non-manufacturing consumers using the national grid.
Energy - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 3:50 pm GMT+7
Two foreign giants eye luxury marina, resort projects in central Vietnam
Swiss investment fund Finance Suisse and the world’s leading superyacht builder Palmer Johnson are looking for opportunities to invest in a super-luxury marina and a resort in the south-central Vietnam province of Binh Dinh.
Industries - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 3:18 pm GMT+7
Int’l investment funds interested in Danang’s financial center: city leader
International investors and financial investment funds from the U.S., Singapore, the Middle East, and Switzerland are highly interested in developing a financial center in Danang, says Ho Ky Minh, the central city’s Vice Chairman.
Economy - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 12:49 pm GMT+7
Samsung’s ex-HR head Na Ki-hong to lead Samsung Vietnam from next month
Na Ki-hong, deputy CEO of Samsung Vietnam and former human resources head at Samsung Electronics, will succeed Choi Joo Ho as CEO of Samsung Vietnam from February.
Companies - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 12:41 pm GMT+7
Vietnam, Poland agree to consider elevating relations to strategic partnership
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk have agreed that the two sides should consider upgrading relations to a strategic partnership soon, on the basis of high political trust and positive results of the 75-year traditional friendship.
Politics - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 10:59 am GMT+7
Japan’s Erex to operate wood pellet plant in northern Vietnam next month
Japan's renewable energy firm Erex is conducting trial production at its wood pellet plant in Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang and will put it into official operation in February.
Energy - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 10:54 am GMT+7
AI can’t compete with human in curiosity, creativity, emotional intelligence: FPT exec
AI lacks curiosity, creativity, and emotional intelligence - the qualities that humans must prioritize to maintain their competitive edge, says Hoang Nam Tien, former chairman of FPT Software and FPT Telecom under Vietnam's leading tech corporation FPT.
Companies - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 9:41 am GMT+7
HCMC’s Can Gio port project gets in-principle approval
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has granted in-principle approval to the Can Gio International Transshipment Port project in Ho Chi Minh City, with investment capital exceeding VND50 trillion ($1.97 billion).
Infrastructure - Fri, January 17, 2025 | 8:17 am GMT+7
Vietnam's Big 4 lender Vietcombank to issue nearly 2.8 bln shares for dividend payment
Vietcombank will expand its chartered capital from VND55,891 billion to VND83,557 billion ($3.29 billion) via an issuance of shares to pay dividends, becoming the largest bank in Vietnam by chartered capital.
Banking - Thu, January 16, 2025 | 7:58 pm GMT+7
Indonesia exports $1.5 million worth of steel to New Zealand
Indonesian Trade Minister Budi Santoso on Wednesday sent off export consignments of welded beam steel, measuring 1,200 metric tons and valued at $1.5 million, to New Zealand, reported national news agency Antara.
Southeast Asia - Thu, January 16, 2025 | 7:17 pm GMT+7
Vietnam to build Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant within 5 years
Vietnam strives to complete building its Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant in five years (by 2030), towards the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1930-2030).
Energy - Thu, January 16, 2025 | 5:06 pm GMT+7
Malaysia, UK discuss elevating relations to strategic partnership
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer discussed the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during their talk in London on Wednesday.
Southeast Asia - Thu, January 16, 2025 | 3:30 pm GMT+7