Publicizing electric vehicle modification, selling vehicles without papers in Hanoi

Want faster, just... replace the IC

Just type the phrase "Hanoi electric car modification" on TikTok or Facebook, a series of accounts advertising electric car upgrade services appear with attractive introductions such as "speed lock", "car running 70km/h", "traveling twice as far", "modified as original, no worry about being detected"... Many videos attract hundreds of thousands of views, public comments discussing the cost and speed after the upgrade.

At a facility of the Emotobikers chain store on Tran Dai Nghia street (Tuong Mai ward, Hanoi), store staff have introduced a series of upgrade plans such as replacing ICs or "accelerating" with software. If the IC is replaced, the original control unit of the car will be removed and replaced with another IC.

If you want to drive fast, you have to upgrade to an IC. Remove the original IC, install a new IC, plug it in like the original, and the car will be more powerful. The car can run about 65-70km/h. Here, 9/10 customers do the same" - consultant.

Not only replacing the IC, the store also introduced a "speed-up" package by intervening with control software on the original IC. According to the advertisement, this option helps the car to be more powerful, increasing acceleration when operating.

Notably, employees admit that the main customers of the store are secondary and high school students. The cost for each upgrade ranges from a few million VND to tens of millions of VND, depending on the service package.

When the reporter requested to issue a VAT invoice, the staff frankly said that the store did not issue an invoice and had never done it with customers before.

Selling uninspected cars, admitting small-scale imports

At a large-scale electric vehicle business on Ngai Cau street (An Khanh commune, Hanoi), not only receiving IC upgrades and battery upgrades, the store owner also proactively introduced upgrade packages to help vehicles achieve higher speeds than the manufacturer's design.

The company's car only installs about 50km/h. If you want to be faster, upgrade to IC, about 1 million VND and you can run 65km/h. If you want to travel far, upgrade to battery, the battery pack alone can cost nearly 10 million VND" - the store owner said.

When asked if changing the battery and control system poses a fire and explosion risk, this person did not deny it but only said, "of course, the battery level will be more flammable and explosive, but if customers still like it, we will still do it.

Notably, the store owner also introduced many electric vehicle models with purchase and sale invoices but without registration papers.

According to PV's investigation, the situation of trading in electric vehicles of unknown origin does not only occur in a few establishments.

At the unique car world store on Nguyen Xien street (Hanoi), the facility owner - who regularly promotes products on TikTok with the account "Hang Un Yin" - does not hesitate to introduce many electric car models imported through unofficial channels.

Chinese goods, imported through unofficial channels. No registration. My side still imports for sale, customers need as much as they want" - this person said.

In addition to selling cars, the store also receives upgrades to ICs, batteries and modification items according to customer requirements.

Arbitrarily replacing the IC, upgrading the battery or interfering with the control system makes the vehicle no longer in accordance with the manufacturer's certified design. The car may reach a higher speed than the original standard, leading to the risk of unsafety when traveling, and at the same time increasing the risk of electrical short circuits, overheating, and fires if the renovation does not meet technical requirements.