HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam is planning to subsidize electricity prices for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, as part of its efforts to promote the use of EVs and meet its energy transition commitments.
The subsidy scheme is expected to be submitted to the central government by mid-September for approval, the government said in a statement over the weekend.
The Southeast Asian country, home to electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the commitment made by advanced economies.
The country currently has just over 150,000 EV charging ports, the majority of which are owned and operated by VinFast.
“The green energy transition is an essential and important task in the process of achieving green development objectives and fulfilling Vietnam’s international commitments,” the government said in the statement.
The government will also work on incentives for EV production and imports, and for users to switch from internal combustion engine cars to EVs, according to the statement.
The statement said Vietnam will ensure that all urban areas have public electric vehicle charging systems, adding that a unified set of technical standards for these stations will be issued by the end of this month.
The country previously implemented policies to waive registration fees and cut excise taxes on new EVs.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Varun HK)
