A series of new regulations relating to electric cars and motorbikes has come into effect this year.
The new regulations relate to energy labelling for electric cars and motorbikes, auctions of vehicle number plates, virtual cabin requirement, and exemption from first registration for new car.
The Minister of Transport issued Circular 48/2022/TT-BGTVT December 30, 2022 on guidance for energy labeling for electric and hybrid electric automobiles, bikes and motorcycles.
Under the regulation, manufacturers and importers must print energy labels according to the form prescribed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The energy label must be displayed inside the vehicle, on the driver's side, the rear fixed side window, or the rear windshield for pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The location should be easy to see from the outside of the car.
It is permissible to stick it on the outside of the vehicle in an easily visible position if it is difficult to see when pasted inside the vehicle.
For pure-electric motorbikes and hybrid electric motorbikes, the energy label must be displayed prominently.
The circular will take effect from July 1, 2023.
Virtual cabin requirement
On April 22, 2022, the Ministry of Transport enacted Circular 04/2022/TT-BGTVT on training, testing and issuing driving licenses for road vehicles, and it stipulates that driving learners must have at least four hours of practice on virtual driving cabins as of January 1, 2023.
According to the Ministry of Transport, driver training centres are responsible for providing and maintaining car driving lessons and equipment to monitor time and distance of students learning to drive on the road, according to the national technical regulations issued by the Ministry of Transport.
With virtual driving cabins, students will be introduced to operating a vehicle, driving uphill, driving on a vertical winding road in the test pattern, and become familiar with hilly terrain and highway situations. After completing four hours of cabin instruction, students will receive a certificate, which is a prerequisite for taking the exam and being issued a driver’s license.
Auction of vehicle number plates
A man in Nghe An province gets a popular number plate number for his Kia model. From July 1 2023, the starting price for a popular license plate numbers to be auctioned is VND40 million and is applied uniformly across the country. — Photo nld.vn
In November 2022, the National Assembly voted by a majority to adopt a resolution to pilot license plate auctioning for three years, to be implemented from July 1, 2023.
According to the decision, the number plate of a car put up for auction is a number plate with a white background and black letters and numbers. Organisations and individuals can select the province or city car license plate number and participate in the auction. The license plate number of the non-auctioned car is immediately transferred to the vehicle registration and management system for proper registration.
The starting price for popular license plate numbers to be auctioned is VND40 million and is applied uniformly across the country.
The Ministry of Public Security will be the entity in charge of working with entities and municipalities to organise auctions for the number plates of cars that have not been registered and are expected to be displayed on the web portal, said the website of the Traffic Police Department, the online website of the property auction organisation.
Exemption from first registration for new vehicles
The Vietnam Register has submitted a plan to the Transport Ministry to implement the first registration exemption for newly manufactured and imported cars within one year from manufacture.
Previously, in May 2022, the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security, sent a written request to the Vietnam Register proposing to exempt newly manufactured vehicles from inspection.
The traffic police justify this with the fact that imported, domestically manufactured and assembled vehicles are tested for technical safety and environmental protection before being sold on the market, so that registration of new vehicles is actually not neccessary. VNS