Electric motorbikes all the rage in Vietnam

As the price of oil goes through the roof, people the world 'round are responding. Here in America many have reduced their driving or traded in their SUV for a hybrid. Others, horror of horrors, have even started taking the bus. In Vietnam, where many folks have been riding 50cc "motorbikes" for years, the reaction has been to switch to electric versions. According to state-owned e-newspaper VietNamNet, "they are selling like hotcakes." One retailer (name not given) interviewed for the story, whose shop is on Vo Thi Sau Street in HCM city, claims to be moving 500 units a month. That's a lot of scooters, excuse me, motorbikes. Typically the parts for these machines are originating in Taiwan and China with assembly taking place in Vietnam. Prices are between VND 6-7 million (US$377-$442).

How goes the electric scooter in America? Most of our faithful ABG readers are quite familiar with the situation with Vectrix sales. The only other scooter manufacturer importer of any note, is Zap, who sell the Zapino. I actually read a very positive initial review of the newest batch of Zapinos (only the ones with ABS) by very knowledgeable electric scooter guy, usatracy, on my favorite EV forum. Strangely, no press release was issued by ZAP to inform us of the improvement in their product.

[Source: VietNamNet]