Vietnam’s Communist government announced last year its plan to ban petrol motorbikes from a 26-square-kilometre area in Hanoi’s historic centre. However, faced with opposition from riders and delays in building charging stations, authorities have since reduced the proposal to cover just 11 streets spread over 0.5 square kilometres.
Even this smaller “low-emissions zone” would only ban petrol bikes on Friday evenings and some weekends, a move that is still uncertain. This significant backtrack highlights the challenges of encouraging the transition to electric vehicles in an authoritarian country with little room for dissent.
City officials have declined to sign off on even the scaled-back ban, postponing the decision until June and casting doubt on its planned July 1 implementation. Analysts say this reversal could be due to a threat to the government’s legitimacy.
Motorbikes are ubiquitous in Hanoi, used by nearly seven million commuters, families or those carrying goods, outnumbering cars roughly seven to one. Despite the government’s gradual push for electric vehicle adoption, petrol bikes still dominate Vietnam’s motorbike market, which is the world’s fourth-largest.
When the ban was first announced last July, manufacturers of mainly petrol bikes opposed it, citing job losses at Vietnamese plants. However, local EV-maker VinFast has seen a surge in sales, while Honda sold around 2.6 million bikes last year. The government has offered subsidies up to $190 for those switching to electric bikes that can cost upwards of $30,000.
Riders are concerned about the availability and safety of charging stations, as well as reports of breakdowns and battery fires. Some apartment buildings have banned e-bikes. Despite these challenges, authorities are working on safer infrastructure and battery swapping plans. However, weaning the public off fossil fuels will take time.