Low-emission transportation requires a national interagency policy infrastructure

Long-term electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is not only a transport-sector issue, but also tied to electricity supply, urban planning and national energy strategy. As EVs become a larger part of overall energy demand, the load on the grid is expected to rise, increasing the need for integrated solutions such as energy storage, demand response and expanded renewable energy.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the charging infrastructure network is expanding quickly, but gaps in planning, technical capacity and policy are emerging. These shortcomings could become bottlenecks in the next phase of EV market growth.

Charging build-out in Ho Chi Minh City: scale, coverage and grid pressure

At a technical seminar on accelerating low-emission personal transport in Ho Chi Minh City, UNDP transport expert Dr. Pham Duy Hoang said the city’s charging infrastructure has reached a modeled scale of more than 1 million equivalent charging points, including about 2,000 public charging poles currently in operation.

In spatial terms, the city has about 1,100 fast charging locations and nearly 2,000 public charging locations. Charging points are concentrated mainly in the inner city, accounting for about 74% of the total. With about 34,500 EVs in service, the current ratio is roughly 8 EVs per charging point, below the commonly cited international recommendation of 10 vehicles per post.

The figures suggest Ho Chi Minh City is still in an early development stage, with infrastructure relatively underdeveloped for the current vehicle scale. However, uneven coverage is already visible, particularly in peripheral areas where the distance to access charging infrastructure is more limited while mobility demand continues to rise.

Dr. Hoang also highlighted user charging behavior: EV charging tends to concentrate during peak hours, increasing pressure on the grid. He said this is not only a technical challenge but also a policy one, pointing to tools such as time-of-use electricity pricing or incentives for off-peak charging.

Forward projections: public charging needs through 2030 and beyond

Research scenarios presented at the seminar indicate that by 2030 the Ho Chi Minh City region (including Binh Duong and Vung Tau) will require about 17,000 to 23,000 public charging posts. More than 80% of these are expected to be concentrated in residential areas, implying substantial growth from today and requiring both investment and coordinated planning.

For the next stage, by 2035 a ratio of 13 EVs per charging post is described as optimal to balance investment costs and operational efficiency. Looking further ahead to 2040–2050, the ratio could rise to around 19 EVs per post as the market matures, signaling higher system optimization.

EV motorcycles and battery swapping: different infrastructure requirements

Because electric motorcycles dominate in Vietnam, charging needs differ from those of cars. The seminar estimates that about 13,000–15,000 Level 1 charging cabinets will be needed before 2030, primarily at households. Public charging is expected to account for about 60% of charging in public areas, indicating a hybrid model combining home charging and public charging.

On spatial planning, a survey across 164 localities identified potential sites for charging infrastructure in the near term: 62 sites in Ho Chi Minh City, 15 in Binh Duong and 13 in Ba Ria–Vung Tau. The same work identified around 1,300 potential locations for battery swapping, with VinFast surveying and selecting about 625 suitable sites.

Policy and market constraints: land access, grid planning and standards

From a business perspective, barriers to accelerating low-emission transport are becoming clearer. A representative of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) said the biggest issue is access to land for building charging stations. The most suitable locations—such as public parking lots, multi-family housing and transport infrastructure—are state-managed, while current regulations do not allow private enterprises, including foreign direct investment, to access land easily.

Licensing, construction permits and grid connection procedures were also described as complex and time-consuming. For high-capacity fast-charging stations, grid infrastructure requirements are stricter, and grid capacity in many areas cannot yet meet demand.

The seminar identified three major policy gaps: lack of land access, lack of synchronized electricity grid planning, and lack of unified technical standards.

Proposed direction: shift from policy encouragement to infrastructure enabling

UNDP said the green transition is complex and cannot be solved by a single measure. For Ho Chi Minh City, charging infrastructure is described as one of the fundamental elements that must be addressed alongside policies on vehicles, planning and energy.

In the short term, with the existing system and identified potential sites, the city can meet daily demand for roughly 35,000 EVs, which is considered sufficient for the initial market stage. However, as vehicle volumes grow, the pace of infrastructure development needs to accelerate to avoid bottlenecks.

The seminar also argued that the role of the state should move from encouragement to market creation. This includes designating charging infrastructure as a form of urban infrastructure eligible for incentives similar to those for electricity, water or telecommunications, and establishing cross-sector coordination to shorten licensing processes and facilitate investment.

Market activity is also increasing. One company aims to reach 10,000 charging posts by mid-2025 and 30,000 by the end of 2026, reflecting expectations for market potential alongside hopes for a stable and transparent policy environment.

Impact and outlook: integrating charging into wider urban and energy systems

Overall, the seminar framed charging infrastructure development as essential urban infrastructure that requires intersectoral coordination to shorten licensing timelines and reduce barriers to private investment. The longer-term focus is not only on the number of charging posts, but on how the system is organized, operated and integrated with other systems so the transition to electric transport can proceed smoothly.

Ho Chi Minh City’s challenge, as presented in the discussion, is to move from policy to infrastructure in developing low-emission transport, supported by a methodical, long-term plan and synchronized implementation across transport, urban planning and energy.