A new policy brief from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has highlighted measures to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Vietnam as the country advances transport decarbonization and emissions reduction objectives. The study reviews existing EV policies, market conditions and institutional frameworks while identifying areas requiring additional policy support.
According to the report, the transport sector accounts for approximately 18% of Vietnam’s greenhouse gas emissions and contributed to around 99,700 pollution-related deaths in 2021. Vietnam has established targets requiring all new urban public buses to be electric or use green energy from 2025 and for all road vehicles to transition to electric or green energy technologies by 2050. The report noted that electric two-wheeler sales increased from approximately 162,000 units in 2019 to 288,000 units in 2021 before stabilising at around 9% market share, indicating the need for additional measures to support wider adoption.
The report recommends a range of policy measures including establishing a science-based definition of green energy, implementing mandatory fuel consumption standards, introducing EV production and sales mandates, expanding financial and non-financial incentives and developing nationwide charging and battery-swapping infrastructure. It also highlighted the importance of building charging networks along urban centres, transport corridors and key travel routes to support long-term EV deployment and strengthen Vietnam’s broader clean mobility transition.