HANOI: Hanoi is reconsidering a ban on petrol-fuelled motorbikes from its centre, which Honda had long criticised, as Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to visit the city.
The ban, announced last year, was aimed at improving air quality in the Vietnamese capital, which at times tops the list of the world’s most polluted cities.
The latest proposal from local authorities, which is still subject to change and was reported by state media on Thursday (Apr 23), would bar internal combustion engine motorbikes from July for a pilot period of six months, but from a much smaller area in the city centre than initially planned and only during weekends.
Honda, which has for decades dominated Vietnam’s large two-wheel market with petrol-fuelled motorbikes, had repeatedly said the initial restrictions were too strict and urged a more gradual transition to electric options.
Its representatives in Vietnam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Honda’s sales in Vietnam were immediately hit after the proposal was announced last July, before recovering, whereas domestic electric vehicle maker VinFast has seen its market share expand quickly.
Under pressure from Japan, whose embassy in Hanoi also urged a more gradual approach to the reform, Vietnamese authorities have announced different proposals to soften the initial plan. The latest proposal is the most aggressive in watering down the ban.
Vietnam’s two-wheeler market is one of the world’s largest – worth an estimated US$4.6 billion in 2025, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence – with the number of registered motorbikes in 2024 approaching 80 per cent of the country’s population of 100 million, one of the highest ownership rates globally.
TAKAICHI SET TO VISIT HANOI
The new proposal comes days before an expected visit to Hanoi by Takaichi, who Japanese media and officials have said is set to travel to Vietnam at the end of next week, before visiting Australia.
The visit would come at a delicate moment in bilateral relations.
Japan remains a major investor in Vietnam and many of its multinationals have large industrial operations in the Southeast Asian country, but investment pledges fell about 75 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2025.
Tokyo also announced in December it would pull out from a nuclear power plant project in Vietnam citing too strict a timeframe.
Japanese companies continue to play an important role in Vietnam’s energy sector, especially in coal-fired power plants, and are involved in projects for possible liquefied natural gas-fuelled power plants, which have struggled to take off.
Delayed payments for completed works and complications in accessing large infrastructure projects are often cited by Japanese officials and businesspeople as concerns over operating in Vietnam.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/vietnam-hanoi-petrol-motorbike-ban-honda-japan-6076156
