Electric motorbikes all the rage in Vietnam
As the price of oil goes through the roof, people the world 'round are responding. Here in America many have reduced their driving or traded in their SUV for a hybrid. Others, horror of horrors, have even started taking the bus. In Vietnam, where many folks have been riding 50cc "motorbikes" for years, the reaction has been to switch to electric versions. According to state-owned e-newspaper VietNamNet, "they are selling like hotcakes." One retailer (name not given) interviewed for the story, whose shop is on Vo Thi Sau Street in HCM city, claims to be moving 500 units a month. That's a lot of scooters, excuse me, motorbikes. Typically the parts for these machines are originating in Taiwan and China with assembly taking place in Vietnam. Prices are between VND 6-7 million (US$377-$442).
How goes the electric scooter in America? Most of our faithful ABG readers are quite familiar with the situation with Vectrix sales. The only other scooter
[Source: VietNamNet]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 9:49AM (3/16/2008)
Electric scooters selling "like hotcakes" for less than $500.00 in Vietnam? Wow, I wonder why the $12,000.00 Vetrix is not doing so well....
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Peekoyle 9:44PM (3/16/2008)
Maybe Vectrix can have their Scooters assembled/made in Vietnam so they can sell them at a sensible price.
This strategy might save them from going broke.
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Nam Hanoi 10:19AM (3/16/2008)
If 10% of America commute by motobike like in Vietnam, on the Honda Dream 100cc, the oil price would still be at 1 dollar per gallon.
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Mike Z 1:19PM (3/16/2008)
This BTW is a Perfect market for Firefly Lead Acid Batteries.
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Enoch 2:41PM (3/16/2008)
At this price, why aren't they imported?his is less of the cost of decent bicycle.
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Holger 4:05PM (3/16/2008)
Where can one order these? They look pretty decent, for $400 at least! It'd be a good way to get to school and around town for me.
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Cervus 5:41PM (3/16/2008)
"Why aren't they sold here?" people ask.
For the ICE scooters, they don't meet US emission standards. I've actually seen an e-scooter around my workplace a couple times, but I would need an e-scooter with at least a 80 mile range. The Vectrix just isn't there, and costs almost as much as two Suzuki Burgman 400s.
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GenWaylaid 6:56PM (3/16/2008)
These electric scooters are imported by the container load. They show up on eBay often for two or three times the Vietnamese price. Unlike the Honda Cub, they are typically very low quality.
The reason electric scooters can even be imported at those prices is they are not considered motorcycles in most states. The laws vary, but in most places if these are limited to 30mph they're considered mopeds. No license, registration, or insurance required (typically). If they were only of decent quality they'd be very cheap to own.
The best electric scooter I've ever tried is the Oxygen Lepton, which is from Italy. They're now out of production, but they never sold very well so a few are still around:
http://www.electricmotorsport.com/store/ems_electric_scooter_oxygen.php
Much better range and power than the Viet bikes, but for the same price as a decent 50cc motorscooter.
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rgseidl 7:34PM (3/16/2008)
At current and projected future oil prices, electric bicycles and scooters would be a lot more popular in the US if only there were dedicated traffic lanes for them.
Most people live within 15 miles of their place of work, so the first company that offers such vehicles with scalable battery packs will make a lot of money. For EVs, range should be traded of against cost much like power is for ICE-powered vehicles.
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Wally 7:49AM (3/17/2008)
Just think...if the US had 'saved' them from the communists they would all be driving big ass pickups and SUV's instead of scooters.
(a 'nam vet's comment, thank you)
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