Vietnam mandates emissions testing for motorcycles next year

Upon completion, a certificate will be issued to the motorcycle owner, the law said.

Compared to cars and specialized motorcycles, regular motorcycles do not require safety and technical inspections. Details regarding deadlines, technical standards, and implementation guidelines have not yet been issued at this time.

Emissions testing for motorcycles is common globally.

Taiwan, a leading motorcycle market in Asia, has enforced this regulation for nearly 30 years. Taiwan mandates that motorcycles must undergo annual emissions testing after the first five years of manufacture.

If the regular testing is not conducted, the penalty for non-compliance is US$15. If a motorcycle fails the test, the owner in Taiwan must have it repaired and retested within one month. If the owner fails to undergo inspection after six months, their vehicle registration may be revoked.

Testing can often be conducted free of charge at regular motorcycle dealerships, with equipment provided by the authorized agency.

In Indonesia, only the capital, Jakarta, requires motorcycles to undergo annual emissions testing after the first three years. Each testing costs about $2.5, according to Jakarta Post.

Vietnam currently has about 70 million registered motorcycles, with over 45 million being actively used daily. Alongside cars, motorcycles are one of the major sources of CO emissions in the transport sector.

Due to limited mass transportation infrastructure and high car prices compared to the average income, motorcycles remain the primary means of transportation for residents in Vietnam, especially in major cities.

Annual new motorcycle sales in Vietnam in recent years have averaged nearly 2.8 million units.

This figure includes sales from the five major domestic motorcycle manufacturers part of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM): Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, SYM, and Piaggio.

If included sales from non-VAMM brands like Yadea, VinFast, Kymco, and other large displacement motorcycle manufacturers, the total sales figures are even higher.

In 2023, VAMM members sold over 2.5 million units, nearly seven times the sales volume of cars (369,431 vehicles).

Vietnam is currently the second-largest new motorcycle market in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and is among the top five largest motorcycle markets globally, according to Motorcycles Data.

Vietnam remains the second largest motorcycle market in Southeast Asia and the fourth worldwide.
The country has remained as one of the largest motorcycle markets in the world through the first quarter of the year with 660,391 units sold, down 5.9% compared to the same period last year, according to newswire Motorcycles Data.