Leaders of Vinasun taxis in HCM City have pledged to remove all the decals with slogans opposing Uber and Grab services from their cars.

Ta Long Hy, deputy general director of Vinasun said on Monday that the company held an urgent meeting the same day following criticism from the public on their decals.

"We'll remove all the decals on Tuesday," Hy said.

Vinasun taxis with the slogan that “Uber and Grab have to conform to Vietnamese laws” or “Uber and Grab’s pilot operation must be stopped in Vietnam” have been found on cars driving through HCM City streets since Sunday morning. The slogans written in yellow on red decals on the back of the taxis are very noticeable to people.  

Most Vinasun taxis running on HCM City streets have these slogans, but they have not been seen on taxis of other firms in HCM City.

In an interview with local media earlier, Hy said that this was done by some drivers and claimed it had nothing to do with the management. He, however, added that he had no problem with the stickers and five taxi firms in Hanoi had earlier done the same way to urge management authorities to stop Uber and Grab operation in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, a Vinsun taxi said that he and many other colleagues pasted the slogan on the taxi following the nod from the company’s leaders.

Dr. Bui Quang Tin, CEO of BizLight Business School, said Vinasun drivers were acting a little bit childishly and suggested it was evidence of people grappling with the problems of competition culture. No big companies in the world issued such campaigns.

Tin added that enterprises are allowed to compete in line with the law. Competition obviously shouldn’t infringe upon the legal rights of other companies or consumers.

The Competition Law also bans negative advertising against other companies or publish inaccurate information to affect them.

Lawyer Nguyen Duc Chanh from Duc Chanh Ltd. Co. said that Uber and Grab could file a case against the Vinasun defamation.

Government Decree 71 set out fines from VND10 million (USD454.5) to VND100 million (USD4,540) for those found guilty of breaking this law.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that the ministry had instructed the Competition Management Board to investigate to see whether Vinasun had violated the competition law or not.

dtinews