Overwhelmingly combustion-engine motorbikes. Something like 7.5-8 million of them on the roads of Ho Chi Minh City.
There are e-bikes around but they aren't very common, at least in the south. Like, I see a few every day so they're not super rare. But...I see one or two a day compared to the thousands of regular ones.
There's also a bit of toxic masculinity around them; I'd say 99% of the people riding them are women. Most often high school or university age.
They are hampered by concerns about theft (it is relatively easy to steal the battery), range, and charging.
A newish brand tried to offer a premium e-bike[1] a few years back and you see them around but not very often.
Interestingly, I was in Hue on holiday a few years ago -- a city in the north -- and, at least in the city center where we were, it felt like it was 30% electric bikes. I don't know if there was a local government policy encouraging them or what.
Honestly, it was pretty amazing. You never realise how much noise combustion engines make until you've seen a huge fraction of them taken off the road like that. It was very pleasant.
I live in Hanoi. One of the best purchases I made last year was noise cancelling headphones. It's the productivity boost I never knew I needed so much.
> There's also a bit of toxic masculinity around them; I'd say 99% of the people riding them are women. Most often high school or university age.
I disagree, I saw a great many male students driving electric bikes back in 2020 (Hanoi, Da Nang, HCMC). I would say of the particular model of e-bike that I tended to notice (the often black or black&red ones with large footrest area), easily 20%-50% drivers were male. I think the reason it isn't more common yet is probably because of range.
There are e-bikes around but they aren't very common, at least in the south. Like, I see a few every day so they're not super rare. But...I see one or two a day compared to the thousands of regular ones.
There's also a bit of toxic masculinity around them; I'd say 99% of the people riding them are women. Most often high school or university age.
They are hampered by concerns about theft (it is relatively easy to steal the battery), range, and charging.
A newish brand tried to offer a premium e-bike[1] a few years back and you see them around but not very often.
Interestingly, I was in Hue on holiday a few years ago -- a city in the north -- and, at least in the city center where we were, it felt like it was 30% electric bikes. I don't know if there was a local government policy encouraging them or what.
Honestly, it was pretty amazing. You never realise how much noise combustion engines make until you've seen a huge fraction of them taken off the road like that. It was very pleasant.
[1]: http://xemayvinfast.vn/xe/vinfast-klara/