The rapid development of the electric car market has led to an increasing demand for personalized vehicles. From pasting heat-resistant films, installing dashcams to adding roof racks, stairs up and down or upgrading interiors, many car owners are willing to spend tens to hundreds of millions of VND to make their cars have their own mark.
However, behind the vibrant electric car tuning market are many issues about the origin of components, invoices and documents. This situation shows many gaps in the management of car tuning activities today.
A survey by Lao Dong Newspaper reporters shows that currently most upgrade and decoration accessories for electric cars on the market are provided by external facilities, instead of from the car manufacturer itself.
Users can easily find a series of products on e-commerce platforms or at specialized car tuning workshops. The accessory market is developing strongly but also leads to uneven product quality, unverified origins and potential risks for users.
Inside the Any Care car modification workshop heavily advertised online
In the role of customers who have just bought a small electric car model and need to upgrade their vehicle, the group of reporters was introduced to Any Care, an electric car modification facility located in Louis City Hoang Mai urban area (Hanoi).
On social networking platforms, this facility appears with a professional image, promoting many services such as heat-resistant film pasting, dashcam installation, electric vehicle battery protection and convenient and safe upgrade solutions.
However, actual records show that the facility operates in a temporary house with many equipment and spare parts gathered inside.
Receiving reporters, the person who introduced himself as the owner of Any Care said that most of the components used to customize cars are imported from abroad. Notably, according to this person, many products do not have full invoices and documents.
When they learned that customers wanted to upgrade their newly purchased electric vehicles, the facility owner introduced a series of service packages priced from 30 to 70 million VND. The items advertised are quite diverse, from interior to exterior, enough to significantly change the initial appearance of the car.
Advice on removing modified gear before registration
It is noteworthy that during the consulting process, the facility owner admitted that some items such as roof racks or escalators may affect the registration process.
According to this person, whether the vehicle is accepted during registration or not depends on each place that performs the inspection.
When reporters expressed concern about this issue, the facility's staff said that customers can completely bring the car back to the workshop to remove the modified details before the registration time.
According to the introduction, after completing registration, these parts will be reinstalled for continued use.
Not stopping there, staff here also said that for some cases of upgrading the lighting system for vehicles, there is currently a service on the market for renting original light clusters for temporary installation to serve registration.
The service supports the removal and installation of these modification details to bring the vehicle back to its original state before being taken for technical inspection.
When asked about value-added invoices, the owner of Any Care said that many items cannot be issued invoices in accordance with the actual products.
According to this person, most components are advertised as genuine goods, of good quality but are imported at low prices to reduce input costs and "evade taxes".
In case customers need invoices, the facility can issue invoices under the name of some other items but still ensure the corresponding payment value.
“In essence, our side is just a business household, so not all items can be issued with correct invoices. Our workshop will ensure to issue invoices to customers through basic items such as heat-resistant films, noiseproofing, speakers... as long as all items are complete,” said the owner of Any Care car modification workshop.
Chung Auto staff guide how to "avoid" vehicle registration
Recorded at Chung Auto at No. 495 Hoang Quoc Viet street, reporters also witnessed many electric cars being in the process of "renovating" the interior and exterior.
Taking us to refer to the tuning workshop and introducing some car models that have completed the upgrade process, a management staff member at Chung Auto said that this facility has been receiving items such as roof racks, stairs up and down or upgrading some items both interior and exterior according to customer requirements for many years. At the same time, this unit also provides a service of removing and installing modified details when the car owner prepares to take the vehicle for registration.
According to the male employee's disclosure, when the registration period comes, the modified details at Chung Auto can still be temporarily removed by the staff and then reinstalled afterwards. In particular, many customers have applied this method and do not encounter problems during vehicle use when traveling.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Lawyer Hoang Ha of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said that the act of advertising and guiding customers to "modify cars and then remove them before registration" shows very clear signs of organizing and guiding them to avoid inspection conditions, legitimizing the introduction of vehicles that have been illegally intervened into circulation.
In essence, vehicle registration is not just an administrative procedure but a mechanism to confirm that vehicles meet technical safety and environmental protection standards. According to Circular 47/2024/TT-BGTVT, converted motor vehicles must be certified for technical safety and environmental protection and the converted dossier must have technical documents, documents proving the origin of the system, and the overall structure used for conversion.
If a car modification facility constructs items that change the structure, shape, size, braking system, steering, electricity, battery, engine, capacity or performance and then guides customers to disassemble and install to evade registration, that facility may be handled for business services, advertising violations and violations related to vehicle modification.
Decree 87/2026/ND-CP is the basis for penalties in the field of advertising when there are acts of false advertising, causing confusion or advertising content contrary to regulations.
Vehicle owners are also not innocent. If they know that the vehicle has been illegally modified but still reinstalled after registration to circulate, the vehicle owner may be penalized according to Decree 168/2024/ND-CP for the act of arbitrarily changing the structure, shape, size, technical safety status or performance of the vehicle.
Fines for cars can be up to 75 million VND for individuals, 150 million VND for organizations, along with measures to force restoration and re-inspection. If dossiers are forged, inspectors are bribed, or accidents are caused, criminal responsibility may be considered.
Car users must first distinguish between installing ordinary accessories and renovating the car. If the change does not change the structure, size, function, and technical safety parameters of the car, it can be done.
For vehicle owners, the safety principle is not to install components of unknown origin, not to arbitrarily change the important components of the vehicle and then put it into circulation.
For car tuning facilities, they must do business in the right industry, issue invoices and documents, use parts of legal origin, construct according to technical documents and not advertise or commit to tuning packages to evade registration. Doing business in goods of unknown origin may be penalized according to Decree 98/2020/ND-CP.
If fake, poor quality components do not meet technical standards but are still installed on the vehicle, the business unit may also be handled according to the group of acts of trading in counterfeit goods, goods that do not guarantee quality.
In cases where sufficient elements constitute a crime, the perpetrator may be considered for the crime of smuggling under Article 188; the crime of producing and trading in counterfeit goods under Article 192 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Commercial legal entities may also be prosecuted for criminal liability, fined, suspended from operation for a limited time or permanently depending on the severity.
