How motorbike companies are approaching the imminent shift to electric vehicles

The Vietnamese market is poised for major changes with Hanoi banning gas-powered motorbikes from most of its downtown area from mid-2026 before extending the ban to outer areas and Ho Chi Minh City likely to follow suit. The two are the country’s largest cities and also lead in motorbike usage.

As soon as the Hanoi ban was announced, most motorbike brands launched trade-in programs or offered discounts for customers to switch to electric vehicles.

But over the longer term local and foreign manufacturers are set to take very different approaches to electric two-wheelers.

Most domestic brands started producing EVs from the outset or in their early years since it was one of the few segments where they could compete with foreign rivals, according to experts.

The internal combustion two-wheeler market had long been dominated by Japan’s Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and other brands such as SYM, Piaggio and Kymco.

Detech, one of the oldest local electric motorbike manufacturers, chose to focus on EVs and some gas-powered motorbikes of up to 50cc soon after its launch in 1999, segments not already dominated by foreign firms.

More Vietnamese companies entered the market during the last decade, including Dat Bike in 2018 and VinFast in 2019.

A customer test driving the VinFast Motio electric motorbike at an event in Ho Chi Minh City in late July 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Trung

Start-ups with limited finances like Dat Bike and Selex Motors are more cautious and focus on a few niche segments.

Selex specializes in two-wheelers for delivery and ride-hailing services, such as its Camel and Camel 2.

Dat Bike initially designed its Weaver 200 model to look like a roadster to target young customers. But its latest model, the Quantum S, looks more like a scooter, indicating that it plans to target a more mainstream customer base.

Larger firms like Pega, DKBike, Detech, and Anbico choose to compete on prices, targeting students, housewives and others who mostly consider costs.

Their electric products are among the cheapest on the market, but suffer from unrefined designs that tend to look the same.

VinFast, which leads the electric motorbike market, has a wide range of products from affordable to high-end.

Its sales come from both consumers and Xanh SM, a ride-hailing platform that exclusively uses VinFast cars and motorbikes.

In contrast, many foreign brands have been slow to invest in electric models.

Yamaha launched Neo’s at the end of 2022 but has yet to introduce any new models since. Taiwanese manufacturers Kymco and SYM have not launched any EVs in Vietnam.

Honda, which has dominated the country’s motorbike industry for decades with a market share of over 80%, only launched its first electric model here, the ICON e:, in April this year. The vehicle, priced at around VND27 million (US$1,030), mostly appeals to students.

The firm has since introduced another model, the CUV e:, which is only for rent at VND1.5 million per month.

In Japan, Honda has developed EVs for delivery services, namely the Benly e: I, II and Pro. It has already set up battery-swapping stations in India and plans to deploy the same model in other countries to address electric motorbikes’ long charging times and short ranges.

TMT Motors, which distributes Wuling electric cars, late last month announced plans to launch five new electric motorbikes by the end of 2025.

Yadea and Tailg, two of the largest electric motorbike and bicycle brands by sales in China, aim to set up large-scale factories and develop products at various price points.

A Honda ICON e: in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Luong Dung

An industry expert based in HCMC said gas-powered motorbike manufacturers’ already well-established production and distribution networks make it impossible for them to quickly shift to EVs.

"This is also happening in the car industry.

"For Japanese manufacturers, the transition is even more cautious because they usually value stability and long-term efficiency."

Industry experts believe this year marks a turning point for the industry.

Nguyen Huu Phuoc Nguyen, CEO of Selex Motors, said if the ban on gasoline motorbikes is eventually implemented on a larger scale, it would attract not only new Vietnamese companies but also major foreign players, making the market more competitive.

"It is important that the government has policies to build an environment for healthy competition."

Manufacturers not yet committed to EVs would need to adjust their strategies accordingly, he said.

"When the market changes, adaptability becomes the measure of a company’s competitiveness against its rivals."