VietNamNet Bridge - About 120,000 cars reached their useful lifespan at the end of 2014. From 2015, it is expected that 15,000 cars will be eliminated each year as they cannot meet the requirements to stay in circulation. However, it is unclear where the cars will be stored.

Under a Prime Ministerial Decision, beginning January 2018, the vehicles which cannot satisfy requirements will be seized. However, analysts doubt state agencies can retrieve these vehicles from owners.

The decision stipulated that the manufacturers have the responsibility of calling back the products they sold in the Vietnamese market after certain periods of use. Consumers have the right to ask the manufacturers to take the product.

According to the Vietnam Register (VR), it is necessary to build up a legal framework for involved parties to implement the decision. 

Regulations about the maximum time for use need to be created. The vehicles older than the allowed period of use would be taken back.

To date, there are only regulations for trucks, pick-ups and passenger cars with 10 seats or more. No regulation for motorbikes and sedans exists because of opposition from different sides.

Some scientists argue that it is unreasonable to fix the number of years for motorbikes and cars in circulation, saying that the lifespan of the vehicles does not depend on the number of years, but on mileage and maintenance. 

The Ministry of Transport once suggested setting the threshold of eight years or 100,000 kilometers for motorbikes. However, it faced strong opposition from the public because it was believed to have a negative impact on the poor.

Vietnam’s poor drive old motorbikes and many of them use motorbikes as the means to earn their living. This would be a heavy burden on the poor if they have to change their motorbikes once every eight years, especially when public means of transport is still not largely available in Vietnam. 

The suggestion also faced opposition from antique motorbike collectors. As a result, the regulation is still on paper.

Nguyen Minh Dong, a Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) in Germany, who once worked as a designer for Volkswagen, said it was unreasonable to stipulate how many years vehicles can be used because in many cases antique vehicles are even more valuable than brand new ones.

Dong said in some countries, old vehicles are eliminated through a registration system. Old vehicles have to undergo very strict registration procedures. People give up their old motorbikes because they have to spend big money to satisfy the requirements to keep the vehicles in circulation.

Tran Thuy