From March 1, 2026, the roadmap for applying national emission standards to cars in circulation according to Decision No. 43/2025 officially takes effect. On the first day of implementation, the used car market in Ho Chi Minh City initially recorded cautious signals from both buyers and business units.
According to new regulations, cars in circulation are classified by year of manufacture to apply mandatory emission levels from level 1 to level 5. In which, cars manufactured before 1999 apply level 1; cars manufactured from 1999 to the end of 2016 apply level 2; cars manufactured from 2017 to the end of 2021 apply level 3. From January 1, 2027, vehicles manufactured in the period 2017-2021 when circulating in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will have to meet emission standard level 4.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Ta Cong Tien - Director of the American-style Car Market system - said that because this is only the first day of applying the regulation, the market still needs more time to assess the actual impact.
According to Mr. Tien, with the specific nature of used car business, it will take several months to clearly determine the level of impact on low-end car lines when entering the next inspection periods. In the short term, the waiting psychology of buyers makes transactions not have many clear fluctuations, although the number of registered vehicles tends to increase.
It is predicted that in the near future, when the new regulations are applied synchronously, the vehicle segment that has been used for over 10 years may face more pressure due to concerns about the ability to meet emission standards in registration periods.
In the context of increasingly tight emission standards, the used car market is said to need more time to adapt, especially for vehicles manufactured before 2016. Monitoring the inspection results in the coming months will be the basis for better assessing the fluctuating trend of this segment.
