The race to invest in charging stations and battery swapping is heating up.

Rising fuel prices and increasing demand for electric vehicles have led to a surge in investment in charging stations and battery swapping equipment. From vehicle manufacturers and infrastructure providers to landowners, everyone is racing to invest in charging stations and battery swapping equipment.

Businesses are pouring capital and investing heavily in charging station infrastructure - Photo: C.TRUNG

In the electric motorcycle market, the battery swapping model is attracting many participants. Unlike traditional charging methods, this model allows users to quickly replace batteries in just a few minutes, reducing waiting time and increasing convenience during use.

Objective: to provide convenience for electric motorbike users.

Among the businesses investing heavily, VinFast is the largest in scale. The company has launched three electric motorcycle models supporting battery swapping technology: Evo, Feliz II, and Viper.

Buyers can choose to purchase the vehicle with a battery or rent one for 175,000 VND/month for a single-battery package, or 300,000 VND/month for a dual-battery package. The cost to replace a battery at a station is 9,000 VND/time.

Along with vehicle sales, the battery swapping infrastructure deployed by V-Green is also growing rapidly. According to the plan, this network will expand to 45,000 battery swapping stations in 34 provinces and cities by the first quarter of 2026. Prior to that, by mid-January 2026, the system had completed the first 4,500 battery swapping stations nationwide.

This is a remarkable rate of expansion, showing that automakers no longer view infrastructure as a secondary factor, but rather as a prerequisite for retaining customers.

Meanwhile, Selex Motors – which focuses on high-frequency vehicle users such as delivery, logistics, and urban services – is operating approximately 118 battery swapping stations in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, and Hue, and aims to increase that number to 1,000 by 2026.

This company is also collaborating with Petrolimex to introduce battery swapping cabinets into gas stations, aiming for a model that serves multiple vehicle types.

The participation of Japanese manufacturers has also heated up the market. Honda has launched the ICON e: model and is preparing to put the Honda e: Swap Battery Station system into operation from April 2026. By June 2026, centralized battery charging stations at dealerships will be further deployed with 1,200W charging heads.

Yamaha also announced plans to build a battery swapping system, piloted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City through the Yamaha Town network in partnership with ZuttoRide Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City, the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is also being accelerated.

Demand for charging stations has skyrocketed.

Many infrastructure providers have reported a sharp increase in customers since fuel prices escalated. Mr. An Dinh Nha, General Director of An Gia Green Energy Co., Ltd., stated that the number of customers requesting charging stations has increased fivefold compared to before. The company has had to collaborate with other units to meet deadlines.

A representative from Fast+ Joint Stock Company stated that they had to increase staff and organize construction work day and night to meet installation demand. Mr. Huynh Tien Dat, CEO of EV One Electric Charging Equipment and Solutions Joint Stock Company, commented that as environmental standards in large cities become increasingly stringent, the trend towards electric vehicles will become more pronounced, leading to a corresponding increase in infrastructure development.

Mr. Chiang Chia-wei, CEO of Gogoro, confirmed that the Taiwanese company will enter Ho Chi Minh City this year, with a pilot program expected to begin in Q2 2026. Leveraging its large-scale battery swapping model, which has been operating in Taiwan for over 11 years, the company owns approximately 1.4 million smart batteries, over 2,700 GoStation stations, serving more than 650,000 users and performing around 370,000 battery swaps daily.

Not only major car manufacturers, but many other businesses are also starting to get involved. Recently, TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company presented to its 2026 annual general meeting of shareholders a plan to add solar power and electric vehicle charging stations to its business lines.

This move shows that electric vehicle infrastructure is no longer the exclusive domain of automakers, but is becoming a new market, attracting more investors to embrace the green transition trend.

Ho Chi Minh City accelerates the expansion of charging station coverage.

At the socio-economic press conference in early April 2026, Mr. Luu Van Tan, Head of the Waterway Management Department under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, stated that the city currently has 9,735 electric vehicle charging stations, including 8 electric bus charging stations with 153 fast charging poles and 4 CNG refueling stations.

Ho Chi Minh City also has approximately 300 fast charging stations and 2,459 battery swapping points for electric motorbikes. The installation of battery swapping cabinets on sidewalks is being promoted. To date, the city has installed 1,005 locations with 1,539 battery swapping cabinets.

The Department of Construction has also announced 900 eligible locations with a total of 2,778 charging stations, of which 173 locations with 411 stations have been actually implemented. According to Mr. Tan, the city will continue to expand the charging station and battery swapping point system to complete the infrastructure for electric vehicles.

According to our observations, some residents and businesses in Ho Chi Minh City have proactively contacted us to install car charging stations or electric motorbike battery swapping cabinets after recognizing the business opportunity.

However, not every location is suitable. According to regulations, the premises must ensure convenient vehicle access, be able to operate 24/7, have full legal compliance, and have a minimum lease term of 5 years for charging stations and 3 years for battery swapping cabinets.

CONG TRUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoc-dua-dau-tu-tram-sac-doi-pin-nong-dan-20260421231938088.htm