Un documented electric vehicle lawsuits are mostly floating goods
Electric bicycles and electric motorbikes without documents and inspection pose a series of serious risks. Because they are hand-cted assembled from floating components, many vehicles do not meet technical standards, are prone to electrical short circuit, fire or damage during operation. More dangerously, this type of vehicle also creates loopholes for smuggling, tax evasion and distorts the legitimate electric vehicle market, directly affecting the rights and safety of consumers.
Learning about the market for assembling and trading electric bicycles and electric motorbikes, Lao Dong reporters looked for some wholesalers advertised as "specializing in cheap electric vehicle supply" in Hung Yen and Bac Ninh. In An Thi commune (Hung Yen province), Vu Luong electric car store floated on social media with clips advertising electric cars with surprisingly cheap prices.
According to the records, this facility is actually the private home of the owner of Vu Luong store, part of the yard is used to display branded electric vehicles and have inspection certificates; but the rest is used for repairing and assembling unregulated electric vehicles to serve each customer segment.
A woman who calls herself the store owner's wife admitted: "The self-assembled car models here cannot be taken for inspection after completion".
Un paper vehicles are called "turtle cars" by the industry, an electric vehicle without a pedal, priced from only 3.7 to 4.2 million VND, excluding batteries and accessories.
According to the woman, if they want to register legally, buyers have to spend an additional 1-2 million VND, but "turtle cars" are always aimed at the low-cost segment, so no one registers or inspects them.
Most of the assembled components here are imported from China through sub-tsaltering or small-scale outlets. After that, the vehicle will be assembled manually without any professional procedures.
"Drivers without papers are currently only sold in Hanoi, which is a high risk because the authorities are tightening them. In the suburbs like this in An Thi, it is fine to practice the law a little" - the owner of Vu Luong electric car store frankly said.
Un paperful electric vehicles are always available, but not publicly advertised
Meanwhile, in Bac Ninh province, the model of electric vehicle business without documents also exists but is not made public. According to the instructions, the reporter went to the "Nam Lan Osakar Electric Vehicle System" in Tu Lan ward, a deserted area in the middle of a large field.
The owner of this establishment is a middle-aged man, revealing: "My family combines both living and working as a store and an electric vehicle repair workshop. If customers want to buy electric vehicles without documents, we only install them when customers order. The installed vehicles are delivered immediately, without storage here to reduce risks. The selling price ranges from 4 to 5.5 million VND/vehicle, depending on the type".
These vehicles are completely hand- assembled from imported and exported components, of course not through inspection. The owner also affirmed that he could make any model that was hot on the market, but the vehicle would not have genuine documents.
According to this owner, Nam Lan Osakar's distribution network is not only limited to Bac Ninh but also extends to Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.
What the reporter recorded about the unregulated electric vehicle supply market in Hung Yen and Bac Ninh is just a small number of many electric vehicle businesses and stores are doing this. In reality, the underground market for trading, buying and selling and assembling unregistered electric vehicles is still full of risks in parallel with the official products.
Under the low-cost old car's shell, many vehicles are hand-cted without any professional or technical procedures but are still consumed every day through online channels and small retailers.
Due to the large profit when each unregulated electric vehicle is half as cheap as a hang vehicle, even just 1/3 of the price, many individuals and organizations have chosen to participate in this chain despite legal risks.
Talking to Lao Dong, an expert in the field of electric vehicles in Vietnam said that using unregistered vehicles is a violation of the law and poses great potential risks to safety.
Self-assembled, smuggled or used car models often use poor quality batteries, batteries, and electric wires that do not pass inspection to reduce costs.
When charging, these components can easily overheat, causing electrical short circuit, explosion and are especially dangerous if charging overnight or in residential areas.
Un competitive vehicle operation not only threatens the life of the driver but also affects traffic order and safety.
