Developing infrastructure for electric vehicles in Vietnam

On September 3, the seminar "Infrastructure for electric vehicles in Vietnam" was held in the form of 3D virtual reality online meeting (Virtual Event) by Transport Newspaper in collaboration with Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) and Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM).

130 guests attending the seminar were leaders and experts of the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, research institutes, leading universities in Vietnam and 22 automobile and motorbike manufacturing enterprises operating in Vietnam,… 

This is an opportunity for state management agencies and businesses to discuss the development trend of environmentally friendly vehicles and electric vehicles; review existing regulations and policies; discuss plans, management orientations, develop sets of standards and regulations to promote the research and promulgation of synchronous and appropriate legal regulations, contributing to the development of this type of vehicle.

Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr. Le Dinh Tho said: “The development strategy of Vietnam's automotive industry to 2025 with a vision to 2035 was approved by the Prime Minister in 2014, encouraging the production of environmentally friendly vehicles (fuel-saving cars, hybrid cars, biofuel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles, etc.), meeting the requirements of emission standards according to the road process", and stated that the development of the automotive industry is synchronized with the development of transport infrastructure.

Vietnam is a developing country that has been actively participating in international treaties on environmental protection. With a population of nearly 100 million people, but the number of electric vehicles is very limited, so Vietnam is considered a very potential market for green and environmentally friendly vehicles. 

Currently, there are a number of automobile and motorbike manufacturers and importers in Vietnam that have started testing, manufacturing and launching environmentally friendly vehicles. This situation raises the issue of State management through the sets of standards and regulations, and the development of management regulations, mechanisms and policies to develop this type of vehicle.

As a state management agency in the field of transportation, the Ministry of Transport always appreciates the comments of experts and businesses in orientation as well as solutions to develop types of vehicles towards the goal of being environmentally friendly, safe and most convenient for road users. 

Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of the Industry Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), assessed that, in addition to infrastructure limitations, policies to encourage the development of electric vehicles in Vietnam are almost nonexistent.

Therefore, for commensurate development, it is necessary to have some solutions such as applying the special consumption tax rate for electric cars on the basis of CO2 emissions into the environment; developing investment incentives and supporting policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the production and assembly of electric cars; focusing on car lines that have not been produced in other countries in the region; aiming at the export market; developing renewable energy sources to provide clean electricity for charging stations, etc.

According to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality of Viet Nam (Ministry of Science and Technology), despite efforts, the number of Vietnamese National Standards (TCVN) and Vietnamese Technical Regulations (QCVN) for electric vehicles are still lacking and inconsistent with the world standard system for electric vehicles.

This requires continuing to build and update on the basis of harmonization with standard systems in the world to increase the adaptation and integration of the economy when Vietnam is increasingly integrating deeply with economies in the region and the world.

According to the Vietnam Register, the number of electrified vehicles (hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles) in Vietnam is still very small. In 2019, there were only 140 electric vehicles in the country, 900 vehicles in 2020 and 600 more by the end of the first quarter of 2021, all of the above vehicles are imported and almost all are hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids and battery-powered vehicles account for a very small percentage. 

The electric vehicle market in Vietnam is also considered an attractive market with the number of manufacturers and assemblers of electric vehicle products rapidly increasing.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Truong Ba Tuan, Deputy Director of Tax Policy Department (Ministry of Finance) said that currently policies and orientations on promoting the use of environmentally friendly vehicles have been identified in many documents and resolutions of the Party and State. 

To make the goal possible, Vietnam must have appropriate policies. In which, economic tools play an indispensable role, including tax policy tools to promote the production and use of environmentally friendly goods, including the automotive industry. Specifically, there are policies on special consumption tax for electric cars and environmentally friendly cars, import tax policies and other preferential and supportive policies.

Electric vehicle development is encouraged by the Party and State in the current period. In order to encourage the use of electric vehicles, besides the reasonable price, the use of convenient charging stations is also essential.

If we have a synchronous charging station system, it will encourage the use of electric vehicles in the country, which means that besides the policy to promote the production of electric vehicles, there should be an appropriate policy to promote the development of charging stations.

According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), after a decade of rapid growth, there were 10 million electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2020. In 2020, the number of electric vehicles sold increased by 41%, despite a 16% decline in car sales worldwide due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

About 3 million electric cars have been sold globally (4.6% market share) and Europe overtakes China for the first time as the world's largest electric vehicle market. Currently, governments around the world have spent 14 billion USD to support electric car sales, 25% increase compared to 2019, mainly from stronger incentives in Europe.

The short-term outlook for electric vehicle sales is quite bright. In the first quarter of 2021, global electric car sales increased by about 140% compared to the same period in 2020, driven by vehicle sales in China with about 500,000 vehicles and in Europe with about 450,000 vehicles. Sales of electric cars in the US more than doubled compared to the first quarter of 2020.  

Source : NhanDan