Hanoi scales back petrol motorbike ban amid Japanese pressure

Vietnamese authorities propose limited weekend restriction after Honda and Tokyo embassy urged gradual transition to electric vehicles.

Hanoi authorities proposed a significantly reduced ban on petrol-fuelled motorbikes in the city centre, limiting the restriction to weekends in a smaller area than initially planned, according to state media reports on Thursday.¹²

The revised proposal would bar internal combustion engine motorbikes from July for a six-month pilot period, but only at weekends and in a much smaller central zone than the original plan announced last year.¹² The initial ban had aimed to improve air quality in the Vietnamese capital, which periodically ranks among the world's most polluted cities.¹²

Honda, which has dominated Vietnam's two-wheeler market for decades with petrol-fuelled motorbikes, had repeatedly criticised the initial restrictions as too strict and called for a more gradual transition to electric options.¹² The company's representatives in Vietnam did not respond to requests for comment.¹²

Honda's sales in Vietnam dropped immediately after the proposal was announced in July last year before recovering, while domestic electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast saw its market share expand quickly.¹²

The Japanese embassy in Hanoi had urged Vietnamese authorities to adopt a more gradual reform.¹² The scaling back of the ban comes as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the city.¹²

Vietnamese authorities have announced several proposals to soften the initial plan under pressure from Japan.¹² The latest proposal represents the most significant reduction of the ban.¹²

Vietnam's two-wheeler market is valued at approximately $4.6 billion in 2025, making it one of the world's largest, according to market research firms.¹²