Thach Hoa of Hai Phong City, a long-time owner of a transport company, says he had long favoured Japanese petrol cars because of their reliability, durability and high resale value. His rental fleet of five to seven vehicles used to consist entirely of Japanese brands.

He calculated that each car, running 300-400km per day, generated profits of around VND1 million (US$38). Thus, after two and a half years, he could recover the VND600-700 million investment for a B-segment car.

After a trip to Europe, where he noticed a large number of electric vehicles on the roads and rode in a BYD M6 MPV, he began to wonder why Europeans, known for being demanding and pragmatic consumers, had embraced EVs.

On returning to Vietnam, he decided to buy two BYD M6 cars, shifting from many years of loyalty to petrol cars to EVs.

A BYD car drives in Bac Kan. Photo from Facebook.

The on-road cost of a BYD M6 was under VND800 million, and, instead of spending on petrol, he now pays just over VND200,000 for charging, increasing his daily profit to VND1.3-1.4 million. He hopes to recover his investment in about two years.

Meanwhile, his three remaining petrol and diesel vehicles have seen profits decline sharply due to rising fuel prices, while routine maintenance costs run into several million dong. EVs on the other hand hardly incur maintenance expenses.

Like Thach Hoa, lower operating costs compared to petrol-powered vehicles prompted Dam Han in Hanoi to switch to electric cars for his personal transport needs.

At the end of 2025, he purchased his first EV, the VinFast Limo Green. The cost savings and stable performance later led him to expand into a transport service using electric vehicles.

Han now operates a regular Hanoi-Bac Giang route, completing two trips per day. After deducting expenses, each vehicle generates an average profit of around VND1.2-1.5 million per day.

"Electricity costs are clearly millions of dong cheaper than petrol for covering the same distance, which makes it very suitable for business," Han said. "What I also care about is how far an electric vehicle can actually travel compared with what the manufacturer advertises."

On a recent trip, Dam Han tested the route from Hanoi to Bac Kan Province, which is about 200km with numerous mountain passes and sharp bends, in his BYD M6. He said the car completed 206.6km with 46% battery remaining. That translates to 4.49km per 1% of battery, exceeding the manufacturer’s stated figure of 4km per 1%. At that consumption rate, he said he could make the return trip to the city without recharging.

Thach Hoa and Dam Han are typical examples of a shift from petrol cars to electric vehicles for service businesses over the past one to two years. EV sales have grown strongly, particularly models suited to commercial transport services.

In the past, A- and B-segment petrol cars were the mainstay of service operators. Today sales in these segments have plunged, while electric vehicle sales have surged rapidly.

Specifically, VinFast’s electric vehicle sales have surged since late 2021, when it began selling its first EV. By December 2024, the company had become the brand with the largest market share in Vietnam. Models primarily aimed at transport services, such as the Limo Green and Minio Green, as well as the largely service-oriented VF 5, have consistently ranked among the top 10 best-selling vehicles each month.

Green SM, established in 2023, operates a taxi fleet using VinFast electric cars and has taken the lead in the four-wheel ride-hailing segment. In the fourth quarter of 2025, it accounted for more than 50% of total transaction value, surpassing major players such as Grab and Be, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence.

Chinese new-energy vehicle brand BYD has also been expanding its footprint. The M6, designed for families and service businesses, has become the company’s core sales driver in Vietnam. After one year on the market, cumulative sales of the BYD M6 have reached around 2,000 units.

Vo Quoc Binh, an expert with many years of experience in the used car trade and service vehicle business in Ho Chi Minh City, said the superior profitability of electric vehicles compared with petrol cars is the primary force behind the current shift among drivers.

"They can accept the extra time spent waiting to charge or searching for charging stations in exchange for taking home more money," Binh said.

No longer cautious experiments, electric vehicles are now regarded by many Vietnamese service drivers as their main "breadwinning tool". Lower operating costs and faster capital recovery are powerful incentives, gradually prompting drivers to abandon long-standing habits tied to petrol and diesel vehicles.

According to Binh, purely in terms of operating costs, electric vehicles are always more cost-efficient than petrol cars for service businesses, particularly in urban environments with short routes and dense charging infrastructure. However, for those prioritising long-term strategies and interprovincial routes that require uninterrupted travel, petrol or hybrid vehicles may still be more practical.

Industry experts note that lower operating expenses provide electric vehicles with a significant competitive advantage. Over the past three years, their emergence has reshaped Vietnam’s passenger transport and service vehicle industry.