By now, electric motorbikes and electric cars have gradually become familiar to Vietnamese people. Not only personal vehicles but also public services such as electric buses, electric taxis, and electric motorbike calls are quickly covering the streets of large cities. Although Vietnam joined the race later, it is accelerating its green transportation journey.
"Book a green taxi, everyone. It's so hot, take a green taxi for your health" - Ms. Minh Ha (working in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) said to her colleagues when everyone was preparing to book a car to a lunch spot in District 1. Explaining more clearly about the "healthy" thing, Ms. Ha said: "The new car is very clean, runs smoothly, no engine noise. The driver is polite, from calling to driving. Popular cars or luxury cars are the same. When getting in the car, the driver will also ask if the temperature is okay, if anything needs to be adjusted. Women love being cared for!".
The quality of vehicles and the attitude of SM Green Taxi drivers are the two factors that are most highly appreciated by the majority of users nationwide when participating in the public transport service market. Immediately after its launch in April, all over the auto forums, taxi groups... continuously posted many articles reviewing the experience of using the service from the first electric taxi brand in Vietnam of billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong. Some people complained about the small number of cars, some complained about the long waiting time (also because of the small number of cars), but the cleanliness, comfort and professional service of the drivers were always rated 4 - 5 stars.
"My house is in Thu Duc, so I have tried VinFast's electric bus before. It is an electric car, runs smoothly, has no smell, and has a very airy and modern design. What impressed me most was that when there were pedestrians crossing the street, both the driver and the bus conductor nodded and waved their hands to give way, very polite and civilized. Therefore, when there was an electric taxi service, I tried it right away. The first time, I used the luxury VF8 car. The car was smooth, well-soundproofed, spacious, and luxurious. The driver was friendly and cared more about the customer than... a boyfriend. As soon as he got in the car, he asked if the temperature was okay, what music he wanted to listen to, if he was comfortable sitting... The car also had a 'magic eye' to check if the driver was looking at the road, if he was careless, he would be 'whistled' immediately, so I felt more secure. Switching to calling an electric taxi, first of all, for the 10 quality points, then for environmental protection. The dusty road is too stuffy" - a detailed review by Ms. Nguyen Ammy Thuy on the group "Community of people "Going to work by bus" received thousands of likes and more than 135 comments of agreement.
Shipper switches to electric vehicles
The strong support of the people for electric vehicles has triggered a series of technology-based ride-hailing companies to join the "green race". The first is the handshake between Gojek VN and Dat Bike, one of the fastest growing electric motorbike brands in Southeast Asia, piloting the use of electric motorbikes to serve the needs of commuting, delivery, and food delivery in Vietnam. The image of the extremely "cool" Dat Bike Weaver++ electric motorbike quickly attracted the attention of many young people. But because it is not a separate service, whether or not you can call an electric bike depends on... luck.
Many young people humorously shared that while booking a car, they "prayed" for the electric motorbike driver to get a "cool" check-in photo. In September, "technology unicorn" Gojek continued to announce its cooperation with Selex Motors, piloting the use of Selex Motors electric motorbikes in transportation services in Vietnam. Gojek VN General Director - Mr. Sumit Rathor affirmed that Gojek VN is continuing to promote support for GoTo Group's commitment to reduce emissions and convert vehicles to 100% electric vehicles by 2030.
Although not the first unit to join the "green race", Be Group's Be car company is leading the speed. The cooperation with GSM to bring electric cars and electric motorbikes into the technology transportation service has laid the first brick for the journey to realize the ambition of shortening the time to "green" the streets of both companies. With a scale of hundreds of thousands of drivers and a platform of nearly 10 million customers widely used throughout Vietnam, the deep cooperation with Be Group has helped GSM get closer to the goal of popularizing the habit of using green vehicles to millions of Vietnamese users effectively and quickly.
Bebike electric bike
Be Group's survey results show that the total number of electric taxi trips recorded continuous growth and after only nearly half a year, it accounted for 6% of total Be car trips each month (higher than the 5% of some other technology-based ride-hailing platforms). "Riding on the momentum", Be and VinFast have taken a step further, supporting beBike (two-wheeled vehicle) drivers to switch from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles. One arrow hits two targets: both expanding the electric vehicle travel habit of passengers and creating opportunities for drivers to own and use smart, environmentally friendly electric motorbikes.
Without revealing details, Grab Vietnam representative affirmed that this ride-hailing company with the largest market share is certainly not out of the trend. Grab is carefully preparing for the plan to join the green race, converting vehicles in the Vietnamese market.
Pioneering enterprises, supportive people, and local governments across the country are also strongly promoting policies to implement the green vehicle conversion. Ho Chi Minh City is at the forefront.
In January 2022, for the first time, Ho Chi Minh City initiated a study on a plan to "eliminate" gasoline vehicles and cover them with electric vehicles through the project "Transportation Initiative in NDC in Asian Countries - NDC TIA" funded by the German Government in Vietnam to promote low-carbon transport development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At that time, Ho Chi Minh City's aspiration to become the first city in Vietnam to develop electric transport was not much interested, even receiving many concerns about its feasibility.
SM Green Taxi operates in Ho Chi Minh City
However, just 2 months after announcing the plan, Ho Chi Minh City officially piloted the first electric bus route, starting the process of diversifying buses using clean energy. Most recently, Ho Chi Minh City plans to issue a project to support people to switch to electric motorbikes in the fourth quarter of this year and implement it in the first quarter of 2024, after obtaining a legal basis from Resolution 98 on a specific mechanism for Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, there will be priority policies to support people to switch old motorbikes using fossil fuels to new vehicles such as electric vehicles and vehicles using clean fuels. The policy is built according to each level: encouragement, support and incentives.
In parallel, the HCM City Department of Transport is also studying the priority of piloting 100% electric vehicles in the entire Can Gio district and some areas in the inner city. When the Can Gio bridge is completed, there will be a buffer zone in My Khanh, where vehicles entering Can Gio that are not electric vehicles will be parked. After that, there will be public electric vehicles to all places. Along with that, the roadmap for converting taxis, buses, cars purchased by state agencies... to electric vehicles will be accelerated.
Vingroup's electric buses run on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City
Following Ho Chi Minh City, the capital Hanoi has also put electric buses, buses using clean CNG fuel and urban bicycles into operation. Since the first electric bus route was officially put into operation (December 2021), Vinbus has had 9 routes connecting Hanoi urban areas with 153 vehicles in operation. The 10th route is being deployed, connecting the center of Hanoi with Noi Bai International Airport. Of the 132 subsidized bus routes with more than 2,000 buses in Hanoi, there are 277 electric buses and vehicles using clean CNG fuel, accounting for 13.6% of the total number of vehicles. The Hanoi Department of Transport has also developed and reported to the City People's Committee on appropriate mechanisms, policies and roadmaps to gradually replace buses, with the goal that by 2050, all buses must be green vehicles.
Da Nang, Hue, Ba Ria-Vung Tau... have also taken the first steps in converting to green vehicles by encouraging people to use public bicycles, combined with the bus network gradually switching to using clean CNG fuel.
Mr. Bui Hoa An, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, commented that countries around the world tend to limit or gradually eliminate vehicles running on fossil fuels, switching to encouraging vehicles using clean fuels. Ho Chi Minh City is heavily affected by climate change with an average annual temperature increase of 1.4%; the rate of regularly flooded area in 2009 was 54%, forecast to increase to 61% by 2050. Of which, transportation activities contribute up to 45% of total greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the Government has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Therefore, reducing emissions in transportation is one of the top solutions that need to be implemented first.
Electric vehicle manufacturing
However, Mr. Bui Hoa An also admitted that the biggest challenge today is that the habit of using motorbikes has been deeply ingrained in the subconscious of many generations. To encourage people to switch vehicles, not only strong support policies are needed, but also the rapid development of a large-capacity public transport network such as metro, rapid buses, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to expand and diversify many forms of public transport. This is a large program, requiring a synchronous plan and large resources.
Prof. Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Council of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, also affirmed that the development of electric vehicles is a global trend and we cannot resist this trend. Even if we do not care about environmental protection, do not care about the positive economic and social impacts that green energy brings, it is expected that by 2030, only 41% of the number of vehicles sold in the world will be vehicles using internal combustion engines, the rest will be vehicles using electricity or hybrid fuels between electricity and internal combustion engines. That is, whether actively or passively, the conversion of vehicles will be the inevitable path that Vietnam must take.
Professor Le Anh Tuan pointed out: Cars and motorbikes are the main means of transport, meeting up to 86.35% of the travel needs of Ho Chi Minh City residents with an average annual growth rate of cars of 6.56%/year. Currently, the main fuels used are gasoline and diesel, so change is a big challenge, especially since the electricity infrastructure is still in its infancy. However, the city has great momentum thanks to the participation of some private companies such as VinFast and MBI. According to the survey, 44% of public passenger transport enterprises have the need/plan to switch to electric vehicles and 13.2% of people have the need to buy electric vehicles, focusing mainly on electric motorbikes. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City has high electrification potential in waterway transport.
"Electric vehicles have entered the Ho Chi Minh City market as an inevitable trend. Now is the time to draw the path for these types of vehicles to become popular in Ho Chi Minh City. The action plan for electric vehicles in Ho Chi Minh City will be key, providing important experience for implementation in other cities in the future" - Professor, Dr. Le Anh Tuan affirmed.
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