Gas price hike sends electric bikes flying off shelves

With demand for electric bicycles skyrocketing following the recent surge in gasoline prices, many shops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have run out of stock. Nguyen Thuy Ha, a Hanoi student, said she sold her Honda Wave Alpha motorbike to buy an electric bike.

For VND5,000 – to charge the battery – she can ride 40 kilometers, Ha said, adding the switch would save her VND500,000 per month.

Duy Khang, a retail shop in Hanoi selling Asama, a Taiwanese electric bike, said last week sales were four times the pre-petrol hike figure.

It has ordered more bikes from Asama but the factory is unable to manufacture enough to meet the demand, the shop added.

Phuong Diep, another shop on Ha Noi’s Ba Trieu Street, said its electric bicycle stocks had sold out in the last few days and only conventional and children’s bikes are available now.

Many parents planning to buy motorbikes for their children now choose electric bikes, the shop owner said.

Tran Huy Tu of Ha Tay Province said since electric bikes were rare at local shops he had to go to neighboring Hanoi to buy an Asama.

But the price of his bike was VND6.8 million while just two days earlier his friend had paid VND6.3 million for the same model, Tu said.

A shop on Nguyen Luong Bang Street said electric bicycle prices were shooting up due to the spike in demand.

In HCMC too, the demand for electric bikes has caught many dealers by surprise.

A shop on Vo Thi Sau Street in District 3, for instance, said it sold around 40 bikes within two hours after they were delivered by Asama.

Customers, mostly middle-aged, could leave their phone numbers and be contacted when fresh stocks arrived, a salesperson said, adding the shop did not take deposits.

The bestsellers are bikes produced jointly by Vietnamese and Taiwanese companies and priced at VND4.95 million or VND5.75 million depending on the size of their tires, he said.

Some new models have appeared recently with a capacity to carry a load of 86 kilograms.

Electric scooters are also in favor among people looking to economize on fuel.

According to manufacturers, these scooters can run around 60-80 kilometers on a full charge costing a mere VND5,000-7,000.

Electric scooters cost VND3-6 million ($179-358) more than electric bikes but unlike the latter they do not have pedals and people have to walk them when they run out of power.

Vo Van Van, deputy head of the HCMC Traffic Police, said the compulsory helmet law does not apply to electric bikes or electric scooters.

Nevertheless, riders should wear helmets for their own safety, he advised.

Though they can reach a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, electric scooters do not need to be registered either.

The price of 92-RON gasoline, the most common grade used in Vietnam, was raised to VND19,000 a liter from VND14,000 on July 21.

Source: Tuoi Tre