Grab enters electric car ride-hailing market with Hanoi debut

Nguyen Hanh Linh, director of Grab Vietnam’s mobility division, said it is meant to broaden the user base and promote environmentally friendly transportation.

"The new service will help diversify income opportunities for driver-partners, giving them more confidence to transition to electric vehicles," she said, adding that following Hanoi, Grab plans to roll out the service in HCMC.

Vietnam’s ride-hailing market currently has three major players: Xanh SM, Grab and Be. Xanh SM exclusively uses electric cars made by its sister company VinFast.

An electric car driver partnering with Grab charges his vehicle. Photo courtesy of Grab

Grab users cannot choose electric cars specifically and getting a VinFast or BYD electric car depends on chance.

Grab said its decision to launch the service was influenced by the increasing number of EVs on its platform following driver incentives in recent years.

The "e-Conomy SEA 2024" report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company estimated Vietnam’s ride-hailing and food delivery market at US$4 billion in 2024 and a possible $9 billion by 2030.

A survey by Japan’s Rakuten Insight released in May found that 55% of users in major cities opted for Grab for ride-hailing services, 32% for Xanh SM and 9% for Be.

Indian market research firm Mordor Intelligence reported that Xanh SM had grabbed the lead in the last quarter of 2024 and maintained it with a 44.68% share in of the second quarter of this year.

In September Grab Vietnam disputed Mordor Intelligence’s figures, arguing the firm "used unverifiable data sources and inadequate research methods, leading to misleading conclusions."

Grab and Be claimed they had never discussed or provided business information, transaction data or market assessments to the Indian firm.