Can Gio Proposes Full Subsidies to Replace Gasoline Motorbikes With Electric Models

A Full Subsidy for a District With 33,000 Motorbikes

Can Gio, the coastal district about 50 kilometers southeast of central Ho Chi Minh City, has proposed fully subsidizing residents who replace gasoline motorbikes with electric models. With approximately 33,000 motorbikes, nearly 1,000 cars and just over 70,000 residents, the district would become the first in the city to fully fund such a transition if the proposal is approved.

Deputy chairman Ho Van Binh announced the proposal at a recent conference, calling for the local government and private businesses to share the cost. As of August 25, 2025, the plan was awaiting final approval and detailed implementation guidelines.

Can Gio's proposal connects two immediate concerns: protecting an environmentally sensitive district and helping residents afford new transport. Local officials say about 22% of the population is classified as near poor, while many residents are expected to lose income during construction of major urban development projects.

The proposed support forms part of a broader ambition to turn Can Gio into a net-zero urban area. Net zero means balancing emissions released with emissions removed or offset. The district's plans also fit Ho Chi Minh City's strategy to develop green marine economic activity, encourage eco-tourism and protect the environment.

Why Can Gio Is an Early Test

Can Gio covers more than 70,000 hectares, about half of which are mangroves and protective forests. Its restored mangrove ecosystem, which recovered after devastation during the Vietnam War, has earned recognition as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

The district is relatively small in population compared with other districts in Ho Chi Minh City. Its ecological importance, however, gives decisions about traffic and construction consequences beyond the number of people who live there. Replacing gasoline motorbikes would address one source of pollution in a place whose development plans depend partly on its natural environment.

Can Gio is also preparing for major investment. Its future is being shaped by a $9-billion urban property project by Vingroup and plans for a high-speed metro line connecting the district with the city center. These projects place the transport proposal alongside a much wider change in how the district develops.

Why Officials Want the Entire Cost Covered

Ho Van Binh linked the request for full support to household finances, particularly the expected disruption during construction of the new urban project. The deputy chairman said residents would need help to make the switch without adding to their financial burden.

A full payout to help locals transition from gasoline-powered motorbikes to electric ones will alleviate their financial burden, especially as many are set to see their income reduced amid the construction of the new urban project.

The roughly 22% of residents classified as near poor are central to the proposal. For households with limited financial room, replacing a motorbike can be difficult even when the new vehicle promises lower running costs. An upfront purchase and future operating expenses are different demands on a family's budget.

Local officials want residents with low incomes to have access to cleaner transport as the city moves toward electric vehicles. Their argument is that environmental improvements and new development should bring benefits that are shared across the community, including people whose earnings may fall during construction.

How the Proposed Support Could Work

Can Gio envisages a package that helps residents exchange gasoline motorbikes for electric alternatives, with funding shared between the government and private partners. Vingroup is a prominent prospective partner and has already announced incentives for electric vehicle adoption in Ho Chi Minh City.

The proposed mechanism is a direct subsidy covering the entire difference between the value of a resident's existing gasoline motorbike and the cost of a new electric model. Authorities are still finalizing how that would operate. The possible measures described include:

• Buyback or trade-in arrangements for old gasoline motorbikes.
• Direct financial support or vouchers toward an electric motorbike.
• Access to loans with low interest rates for residents needing additional financing.
• Waivers for registration and other administrative fees.

The intended package addresses the practical work of replacing a vehicle as well as its price. Residents would need a way to exchange their old motorbike, complete registration and arrange any remaining financing. The final guidelines would determine how the proposed full subsidy and these supporting measures fit together.

What Vingroup and VinFast Are Offering

VinFast, Vingroup's vehicle subsidiary, is offering to cover the full registration fee for customers buying electric motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City from August 1 to October 31. Registration is an additional expense beyond the vehicle's purchase price, so covering it reduces the amount a buyer must pay to get the vehicle into use.

Vingroup's wider incentives include a 10% discount on electric motorbike prices and a 10% reduction in loan interest rates for three years. Electric car buyers are being offered a reduction of 3% in loan interest rates over three years. The package also includes free battery charging at V-Green public charging stations.

These measures are intended to make electric vehicles more accessible and affordable, particularly for households with low incomes. They form part of the business support surrounding the proposed transition, alongside the funding Can Gio wants for residents replacing their motorbikes.

A Vingroup representative at the conference described the company's proposals to the city as covering both financial assistance and the facilities needed to use electric vehicles.

We have proposed to HCMC many policies to support locals transition to electric vehicles, including financial incentives and infrastructure investments.

Government agencies, businesses and local communities would all have roles in putting the program into practice. Public funding and commercial incentives address affordability, while charging investment addresses whether residents can use their replacement vehicles conveniently.

A City Plan Targeting 400,000 Working Motorbikes

Ho Chi Minh City's wider electric transport strategy seeks to replace 400,000 gasoline motorbikes by 2028, beginning with drivers working through ride-hailing and delivery platforms. Can Gio's proposed subsidy would sit within that broader effort to reduce vehicle emissions and modernize urban transport.

The draft prepared by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies sets out a staged conversion. From 2026, only electric motorbikes would be allowed to register for ride-hailing and delivery platforms. Conversion targets would then rise from 30% by the end of 2026 to 80% in 2027 and a complete switch in 2028.

The draft also provides for gasoline motorbikes to be banned from those platforms after 2029. For drivers, the proposed timetable ties their choice of vehicle to their ability to register for and continue platform work.

The transition dates and the current commercial incentive period can be set out as follows:

• August 1 to October 31, 2025: VinFast's offer to cover electric motorbike registration fees in Ho Chi Minh City.
• 2026: Only electric motorbikes would be accepted for new registration on ride-hailing and delivery platforms, with 30% conversion targeted by the end of the year.
• 2027: The platform conversion target would reach 80%, while proposed restrictions on gasoline vehicles in low-emission zones would begin during peak hours.
• 2028: The city aims to complete the switch of the targeted 400,000 motorbikes, with a full gasoline vehicle ban proposed within low-emission zones.
• After 2029: Gasoline motorbikes would be banned from ride-hailing and delivery platforms under the draft.

What Low-Emission Zones Would Change

Ho Chi Minh City plans to establish low-emission zones, areas where access by polluting vehicles is restricted. Under the proposed schedule, gasoline vehicles would face restrictions during peak hours beginning in 2027 and a complete ban within those zones from 2028.

Can Gio is set to be among the city's first such zones because of its ecological significance and the urban development projects underway. For residents, a subsidized motorbike replacement would therefore help them adapt to planned changes in which vehicles can travel locally.

The zones form part of a broader emissions control program responding to national directives on urgent environmental protection. The city also aims to offset the cost of subsidies and tax breaks through revenue from carbon credit trading.

Carbon credits are a way of assigning a tradable value to reductions or removals of greenhouse gas emissions. The city's plan is to use that revenue to help pay for cleaner transport measures and make the transition financially sustainable over time.

Charging Access and Housing Safety

Ho Chi Minh City had only about 50 battery-swapping stations as of mid-2025. More were expected as additional companies entered the market, but expanding the network remained a central challenge for the proposed transition.

Battery swapping allows a rider to exchange a depleted battery for a charged one instead of waiting for charging to finish. Fixed charging points and mobile charging services are other options the city is encouraging as it maps potential locations and seeks investment.

Residents considering electric motorbikes face practical concerns about the reliability of the technology and the availability of charging stations. Free charging at V-Green public stations would reduce an operating expense, while the location and availability of facilities would affect how easily riders could use them.

Rental housing presents another concern. Electrical standards and fire prevention measures may be inadequate in some properties, creating risks that need attention as more residents charge electric vehicles. Authorities plan to increase inspections and provide guidance to landlords and tenants.

The proposed transition therefore requires work beyond handing over a new motorbike. Charging infrastructure, suitable electrical systems and safety guidance are part of making electric transport usable in daily life.

The Pollution Reductions the City Is Seeking

Motorbikes are responsible for 90% of vehicle-related emissions in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the figures cited in the city's transition plans. Their contribution to poor air quality and public health risks is a major reason for focusing on these vehicles.

The city estimates that its emissions control measures could reduce annual pollution by more than 56,000 tons of carbon monoxide and 4,400 tons of hydrocarbons. Carbon monoxide is a harmful gas, while hydrocarbons are compounds that contribute to air pollution.

Replacing gasoline motorbikes with electric models removes exhaust emissions from those vehicles where people ride them. In Can Gio, that goal is connected to protecting an environmentally sensitive district and supporting tourism built around its natural surroundings.

The district's net-zero ambition is broader than changing motorbikes alone. Its transport proposal sits alongside environmental protection, green marine economic development and the management of major construction projects. The city is pursuing these changes while it continues to expand and modernize.

Jobs, Household Costs and Construction Disruption

Electric vehicle manufacturing, maintenance and charging infrastructure could create new industries and employment opportunities as the transition progresses. Businesses supplying vehicles and the services needed to run them would become part of the city's changing transport economy.

Residents face a more immediate calculation: whether they can replace a vehicle, keep it charged and manage their household income during redevelopment. Electric motorbikes promise lower operating costs and cleaner air, but residents also have concerns about unfamiliar technology and the potential loss of earnings during construction.

Can Gio's proposed full subsidy is intended to address the purchase barrier at a time when some households may have less money available. Local officials want to prevent residents with low incomes from carrying a disproportionate share of the costs and disruption associated with the switch.

The government's role in funding and regulation, businesses' role in vehicles and charging, and residents' daily transport needs are closely connected. The program's success would depend on cooperation among all three, with support reaching the people affected by the changes.

How Can Gio Fits With Other Transport Policies

Paris and London have introduced low-emission zones, while governments in China and India have used large electric vehicle subsidy programs. These approaches combine restrictions on polluting transport with support for cleaner alternatives.

Those efforts have shown that financial incentives, charging infrastructure and public education together can accelerate adoption. Can Gio's proposal uses a similar combination: help with the cost of replacing a vehicle, business support and investment in facilities needed to operate it.

Vietnam's experience with vehicle emissions control dates back to 2010, but implementation has been slow because of legal and logistical difficulties. Ho Chi Minh City's broader approach, with Can Gio as an early test, brings vehicle replacement and emissions restrictions into the same program.

Can Gio's combination of mangrove protection, household financial pressures and large development projects makes it a distinctive place to test that approach. If the proposed support works, it could provide a model for similar programs elsewhere in Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese regions.

The immediate issue is turning the proposal into approved arrangements that residents can use. Its central promise is straightforward: public and private funding would help people replace gasoline motorbikes while the district pursues cleaner transport and manages major economic change.

Key Points

• Can Gio has proposed a 100% subsidy for residents replacing gasoline motorbikes with electric models, with costs shared by government and private businesses.
• The district has approximately 33,000 motorbikes, nearly 1,000 cars and just over 70,000 residents; about 22% of its population is classified as near poor.
• The proposal awaited final approval and detailed implementation guidelines as of August 25, 2025.
• VinFast's registration fee offer runs from August 1 to October 31, alongside vehicle discounts, loan interest reductions and free charging incentives.
• Ho Chi Minh City aims to replace 400,000 gasoline motorbikes used for ride-hailing and deliveries by 2028 under a staged draft plan.
• Can Gio is set to be among the city's first low-emission zones, with peak-hour gasoline vehicle restrictions proposed for 2027 and a full ban within those zones from 2028.
• Charging access, rental housing safety and support for households facing income disruption are central practical challenges.