Vietnam setting bans on gasoline motorcycles next year, followed by cars
Vietnam is taking bold steps to clean up its streets – and quiet them down. Starting next summer, the major downtown areas of Hanoi will ban all gasoline-powered motorcycles as part of a program to cut down on emissions.
The plan will go into effect on July 1, 2026, and then will expand the following year to cover more districts outside of downtown, and eventually include gasoline-powered cars as well. Other major cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang are now studying similar measures.
The plan is part of Vietnam’s national goal to phase out gas-powered two-wheelers entirely by 2045. And in a country where motorcycles are the lifeblood of daily transportation, with an estimated 72 million of them on the road, this marks a seismic shift.
The first phase of the ban will cover the Hoan Kiem and Ba Dinh districts of Hanoi within the Ring Road 1. These central areas are known for dense traffic, high pollution levels, and a thriving tourism industry. Officials hope that banning gasoline-powered motorbikes will reduce noise, smog, and carbon emissions while nudging residents toward cleaner electric alternatives.
For now, the ban only affects motorcycles, but city officials have confirmed that it will extend to gasoline-powered cars in later phases. And while many Vietnamese cities have flirted with the idea of regulating vehicle emissions before, this marks the first concrete plan with a clear timeline. Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest urban area, is closely watching Hanoi’s progress and is said to be considering following suit.
Electric motorcycles and scooters are already a fast-growing market in Vietnam, led by homegrown companies like VinFast and Selex Motors. VinFast claims to have sold over 160,000 electric scooters as of early 2024, and Selex is rapidly expanding its battery-swap station network. But so far, electric two-wheelers only account for around 5% of the total market.
That number could soon change.
As gas-powered vehicles begin to disappear from urban centers, electric models may finally gain the upper hand. The government is also exploring support policies like financial incentives and improved charging infrastructure, both of which are key to getting more people to switch.
Still, there are hurdles. Many Vietnamese riders are hesitant to adopt electric bikes due to range anxiety, high upfront costs, and a lack of charging stations. But with regulatory pressure increasing and electric models becoming more affordable, the shift looks more like a matter of “when” than “if.”
Electrek’s Take
Vietnam banning gas-powered motorcycles is a big deal, and not just for local air quality. It’s also a major signal to the broader Southeast Asian market, where motorcycles vastly outnumber cars. If Vietnam can pull this off, it could become a model for electrifying personal transport in developing countries. Keep an eye on this one.
Each time I’ve visited Shanghai, for example, I’m amazed at how a pack of 30-40 motorcycles and scooters can whizz by with nothing but wind noise. China has set the example on how cities can clean up, quiet down, and improve their quality of life by mandating an end to gasoline-powered motorcycles. If other countries can replicate it in big cities, the improvement to local and global air quality would be massive, and that comes on top of all the hyper-local benefits like reductions in noise and urban grime.
That being said, one year is an incredibly fast timeline to shift literally millions of motorcycles to electric. It also doesn’t appear to address the financial burden this will put on residents who will have to replace their vehicle, even if locally produced electric scooters can be made affordable. I’ll be watching this one intently to see how officials can address these issues and if they can maintain this tight deadline. If they can pull it off, though, the face of major Vietnamese cities could change completely.
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Get ready, children. There’s a new electric bike licensing scheme that will soon be tested as one of several methods designed to help educate young riders on responsible road use and combat the growing concern of dangerous e-bike riding among youths around the world.
Known as the Student Bicycle License Scheme (SBLS), the proposal in New South Wales, Australia, will operate as a trial of a new licensing program for electric bike riders. The program targets school-aged e-bike riders in response to a growing number of accidents and misuse cases involving young riders.
The pilot program will require students to complete an online training course and pass a knowledge test before being issued a digital license to ride an e-bike or e-scooter. The scheme is expected to launch later this year in select schools, and if successful, could pave the way for a broader rollout.
Schools in Sutherland and Newcastle have reportedly expressed interest in joining the program, which leaves it up to individual schools to decide how they wish to use the new license program. For example, they can make it mandatory for students who want to ride to school or use secured bicycle parking facilities at the school.
The trial will initially focus on education rather than enforcement. Students who complete the course will receive a digital “ride-ready” credential, but there are currently no plans to introduce fines or penalties for unlicensed riders during the pilot phase. The government is partnering with road safety experts and schools to develop the training materials, which will cover speed limits, helmet use, sidewalk etiquette, and proper intersection behavior.
Australia’s National Transport Research Organisation is also reviewing current electric micromobility laws, with a report expected by the end of the year. The Queensland trial is seen as a possible blueprint for other regions facing similar safety concerns.
The announcement comes as electric bikes become increasingly popular among Australian youth, not just as toys, but as practical transportation to and from school, work, and social events. With that growth has come scrutiny – several high-profile crashes, some involving modified or overpowered e-bikes, have pushed lawmakers to act.
The same phenomenon is playing out around the world, including in Europe and the US, where young riders have increasingly taken to electric bikes as an alternative form of transportation, though one that has raised concerns around road safety among a young populace who has yet to learn the rules of the road.
Electrek’s Take
This is one of several school-level educational outreach programs we’ve seen pop up lately, and I think these are great ideas.
While the idea of requiring a license to ride an e-bike might sound extreme in some places, Australia’s approach here is education-first, and it could actually be a smart move. It also seems like the license is designed to be effective without being a burden. If you can grasp the knowledge, you can pass the test. And since many of the issues surrounding young e-bike riders arise from a general ignorance of road rules, this could be an effective solution. Teaching young riders the rules of the road before they hit the pavement might help reduce injuries and improve public perception of micromobility. Plus, the fact that it is a digital license means that there would presumably be fewer costs involved, which will hopefully allow the program to be free of charge and further reduce the burden of the licensing process.
Of course this won’t do anything for the “hooligan” riders who know the rules and simply don’t care, but that’s where enforcement has to step in as the heavy-handed partner to education.
I think this is a great example of balanced e-bike regulation. A measured mix of education and enforcement is key to ensuring e-bikes remain safe while taking advantage of their myriad benefits to the public. And hey, it sure makes a lot more sense than NYC trying to cut the speed of all electric bikes in half overnight.
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The State of California is moving to ban the sale of Tesla cars amid claims that the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, have misled buyers about the self-driving capabilities of their cars. We’ve also got market-leading news out of Vietnam and a pricey, pricey lesson for one VW ID.Buzz buyer on today’s lesson-learning episode of Quick Charge!
We also ask what this might mean for the recent Uber/Lucid autonomous taxi tie-up and go through a full rundown of the fastest depreciating EVs on the market (and yes, there are four Tesla models in the top 10 … because the Cybertruck was too new to qualify).
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Sunrun is putting tens of thousands of home batteries to work in Puerto Rico as the island’s electric grid faces a summer of high temperatures and energy shortfalls.
The company says it’s now dispatching energy from over 37,000 residential batteries to help grid operator LUMA keep the lights on. That stored power is being used to prevent rolling blackouts when demand spikes and centralized power plants can’t keep up.
Sunrun’s emergency power contribution has grown more than tenfold since last summer. LUMA expects more than 75 energy shortfall events between now and October, with each dispatch sending electricity to the grid for four consecutive hours. During several recent evenings, Sunrun and other virtual power plant (VPP) operators provided enough energy to offset a 50-megawatt generation gap, LUMA said.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell said Puerto Rico’s aging infrastructure and intense weather patterns make home battery support increasingly critical:
It’s going to be a very difficult summer, which is why Sunrun has ramped up our dispatch capabilities, using tens of thousands of home batteries to support the grid and people of Puerto Rico.
She added that distributed power plants like Sunrun’s serve the same role as natural gas peaker plants – offering fast, reliable power during high-demand moments – but with clean energy.
Sunrun customers enrolled in the VPP will get paid too. Each participating battery earns about $200 minimum for the season, and customers who allow more of their stored energy to go to the grid earn even more. Sunrun also earns revenue for operating the VPP.
Read more: The US’s largest virtual power plant now runs on 75,000 home batteries
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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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