VietNamNet Bridge - While analysts say the motorbike market is becoming saturated, they believe the electric motorbike market segment has great potential.


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The electric motorbike market has great potential




The first electric motorbikes with the Vinfast Klara brand are expected to hit the market this year end. VinFast’s agents are making hectic preparations to be operational on schedule.

Another Vietnamese brand has also joined the electric motorbike market, which has many strong brands such as Anbico, Pega, DK Bike and SYM.

A report from the Vietnam Register said that 3 million motorbikes are sold each year, while only 400,000 electric motorbikes were sold last year. This shows great potential in the market segment.

A report from the Vietnam Register said that 3 million motorbikes are sold each year, while only 400,000 electric motorbikes were sold last year. This shows great potential in the market segment.
In fact, manufacturers all have production capacity higher than the current consumption level. Pega, for example, can churn out 200,000 products a year. VinFast, in the first period, plans to put out 250,000 products a year before raising the output to 1 million.

Doan Linh, CEO of Pega, noted that other countries have encouraged the use of electric motorbikes because the vehicles are friendly to the environment. 

Japan and South Korea want to lift the electric motorbike proportion from 0.5 percent in 2017 to 5.3 percent by 2020. 

Meanwhile, China is offering tax incentives to the manufacturing sector with the ambitious plan of having 5 million electric motorbikes in 2020.

In Vietnam, the market began taking shape years ago with the presence of imports.  The appearance of the new brand VinFast is expected to heat up the market.

However, analysts warn that it will not be easy to conquer Vietnamese hearts with electric motorbikes. A product of VinFast, priced at VND30 million, is a relatively high level, which is equal to the price of the products of Honda, a well known brand to Vietnamese.

However, a study from Frost & Sullivan has found that in some countries, including Vietnam, price is not the reason behind the modest consumption of electric motorbikes.

The biggest concern of consumers is the safety of electric motorbikes. In addition, they also are worried about what they have to do if their batteries run out of electricity.

Aware of the concern, manufacturers are trying to improve their products. Renault has launched the new version of Zoe which can run 400 kilometers after one battery charge. KYMCO has developed a new scooter model with an easily replaced battery.

VinFast has joined PV Oil and Petrolimex to implement a plan to set up 30,000-50,000 battery charges and lease nationwide by 2020.

However, analysts said Vietnam, to develop an electric motorbike market, needs to give support to manufacturers. The Japanese government, for example, plans to remove many regulations to make it cheaper to build charging stations.


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