Mai Linh electric taxis to prowl the streets from June

On April 8, Taxi operator Mai Linh Group and Renault signed the contract on the importing of electric cars for the group’s passenger transport services.

Accordingly, Mai Linh will import 100 Fluence ZE electric cars at a price of $29,000 each, to pilot in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang. The cars are expected to arrive to Vietnam in June.

According to Roland Bouchara, Renault’s vice chairman in the Asia-Pacific region, it is the first and largest batch of Renault electric cars imported to the ASEAN, showing that Vietnam is one of the fastest growing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the framework of the signing ceremony, French ambassador in Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier and a representative of the Hanoi People’s Committee signed an agreement for the environmental protection programme.

Last December, Mai Linh and Auto Motors Vietnam, the exclusive importer of Renault cars in the country, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the importing of electric cars. Accordingly, Mai Linh will import between 10,000 and 20,000 electric cars within five years.

Previously, Mai Linh Group chairman Ho Huy said that it was difficult to carry out this project because the price of an electric taxi was a lot higher than that of a car running on oil. Exacerbating difficulties, Vietnam does not yet have the necessary infrastructure for electric cars. Ho Huy calculated that the project, including the importing of the cars and the building of charging stations, would cost about $567 million.

Thereby, Mai Linh requested government agencies, including the ministries of Finance and Transport, Planning and Investment, Natural Resources and Environment, and Science and Technology, to decrease or eliminate tariffs on the importing of electric cars, as well as decrease value-added tax, special consumption tax, and other types of taxes and fees related to electric cars.

Mai Linh also asked for land to build the necessary infrastructure for its project, including parking lots and charging stations.