Vietnam has witnessed rapid urban development with the number of cities increasing sharply in recent years. With the increased urbanization rate from around 24 percent in 1999 to 39 percent in 2019, the population of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city have increased from 2.7 million and 4.2 million in 1999 to 7.9 million and 9 million respectively in late 2019.
Rapid urbanization comes with significant pressure on the transport sector. Indeed, the number of car owners in Vietnam increased by 38 percent from 2012-16, the higest growth rate in the region compared to neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Vietnam is also the fourth largest motorbike user in the world after India, China and Indonesia.
This trend is particularly evident in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which account for approximately 50 percent of the total number of registered cars in Vietnam.
In Hanoi city, the number of personal vehicles has tripled over the last 10 years while in Ho Chi Minh City, the number of personal vehicles increased from 5 million in 2010 to around 9 million in mid 2019. With the growing middle class of around a million people per year, car ownership in urban areas will continue to rise.
Keeping up with growth
Such significant growth is a positive sign of investment and economic prosperity but the threat which it places on the environment cannot be forgotten. Industrial emissions, coal combustion and the increasing number of vehicles using fossil fuels are the main causes of deteriorating air quality in Vietnam so far.
In cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and in industrial areas, where more than 70 percent of emissions come from transportation, high levels of CO, CO2, SO2 and NOx have been detected.
The fear is that Vietnam could soon follow the path of industrialized megacities in China and India, where smoggy skies and face masks have become common. In an effort to reverse this trend, and maintain current growth in foreign investment and GDP, the Vietnamese government is committed to sustainably balancing the pressure of urban and industrial growth.
Within the Vietnam Green Growth Strategy, a clear objective has been outlined to reduce emissions for a cleaner and greener urban future. Adoption of emobility solutions will be one of the key factors in achieving this.
E-mobility in action
Electric vehicles have attracted widespread interest in the world because of their ability to reduce energy consumption and emissions. They emit less greenhouse gases and air pollutants over their life than a petrol or diesel vehicle.
With no tailpipe, pure electric vehicles produce no carbon dioxide emissions when driving. Research shows that over a year, just one electric car on the roads can save an average 1.5 million grams of CO2 according to co2.myclimate.org.
This reduces air pollution considerably. Simply, electric vehicles give us cleaner streets making the cities a better place to be for traffic participants.
ABB is a world leader in electric vehicle infrastructure. It offers the full range of charging solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses, and electrification solutions for ships and railways. ABB entered the electric vehicle-charging market back in 2010 and has sold more than 13,000 DC fast chargers across over 80 countries worldwide, more than any other manufacturer.
While holding a solid track record in supplying leading charging stations across European countries, ABB is also spreading its coverage to USA, India, China and many other South East Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. ABB’s solutions are ideally suited for highway rest stops, petrol stations, or city shopping malls where the highest power is required to minimize charging time. They also offer AC wallbox chargers which provide high quality and cost effective charging points that can be installed easily at homes or offices.
ABB has recently received the Global E-mobility Leader 2019 award for its leadership role in supporting international adoption of sustainable transport solutions.
“With a strong presence in Vietnam over the last 27 years in supporting the country’s power and automation, ABB looks forward to bringing new technologies into Vietnam to help solve air quality issues and playing a part in changing the transport landscape. We are confident that our industry-leading technology will play a pioneering role in Vietnam’s future transition to e-mobility adoption.” said Noel Hupont, Country Managing Director of ABB in Vietnam.
