Honda and VinFast compete in the Vietnamese motorcycle market.

In the Vietnamese two-wheeler market, Honda has long been one of the top names, in terms of brand reputation, popularity, sales volume, and the number of vehicles still in operation on the road.

However, as the electrification trend begins to gain momentum, Honda is gradually feeling the heat from its competitors.

Among the notable names in the Vietnamese electric motorcycle market, VinFast stands out significantly, with its sales for the entire year of 2025 recording a growth of 473% compared to the previous year.

Honda leads the way, VinFast experiences rapid growth.

The latest report from Honda Vietnam for the 2026 fiscal year shows that the Japanese brand's motorcycle sales reached nearly 2.3 million units, a slight increase compared to the same period last year. Honda's 2026 fiscal year is defined as the period beginning on April 1, 2025 and ending on March 31, 2026.

In fiscal year 2026, Honda accounted for 84.7% of two-wheeler sales in Vietnam – based solely on data compiled by the Vietnam Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (VAMM). Compared to the same period last year, Honda's market share within VAMM increased by 1.7%.

Honda remains the best-selling motorcycle brand in Vietnam. Photo: Phuc Hau.

Meanwhile, VinFast, in its 2025 financial report, also stated that its electric motorcycle and electric bicycle business recorded a total of 406,498 deliveries, equivalent to a growth of 473% compared to the whole of 2024.

Data collected by Motorcycles Data also indicates that by the end of 2025, VinFast had surpassed Yamaha to become the second-highest-selling two-wheeler brand in the Vietnamese market, second only to Honda.

According to the latest information from Motorcycles Data , the aforementioned rankings remain unchanged after the Vietnamese motorcycle market concludes the first quarter of 2026. Honda leads with a 12.9% sales growth in the January-March period, followed by VinFast with nearly 205% growth, while Yamaha strives for third place with a 12.4% sales increase compared to Q1/2025.

VinFast has experienced rapid growth recently, rising to become the second-best-selling motorcycle brand in Vietnam. Photo: Phuc Hau.

Although the sales gap between Honda and VinFast remains quite large, the Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer's rapid growth in recent times has made its Japanese rival wary. If we consider only the electric motorcycle segment, VinFast is currently the leader, far ahead of competitors such as Yadea, Dat Bike, Selex Motors, etc.

Therefore, in the current VinFast-Honda rivalry in the Vietnamese motorcycle market, the battle in the purely electric two-wheeler segment will attract the most attention. VinFast will continue its efforts to assert its position in the electric motorcycle market, while Honda will not sit idly by, having recently launched a series of serious electrification initiatives.

Honda accelerates electrification.

Following the official handover of the first two electric motorbikes, the ICON e: and the e: CUV, around mid-2025, Honda continued to deliver 205 BENLY e: electric motorbikes to Vietnam Post Corporation, bringing the total number of electric motorbikes used by the corporation for transportation within Hanoi and surrounding areas to 405.

Honda is continuously launching electric motorcycles. Photos: Dan Thanh, Phuc Hau, Tran Hien.

At an event held earlier this year, the Honda UC3 was officially launched, described as the company's first fixed-battery electric motorcycle in the Southeast Asian market. According to rumors, the Honda UC3 will soon go on sale at the end of June, with an expected price around 60 million VND.

Also at the aforementioned event, Honda Vietnam announced the starting price for the e: CUV at 44.18 million VND, thereby expanding the accessibility of this electric vehicle model instead of limiting it to the single rental option as before.

The HMPP battery swapping station system is also gradually being deployed at HEAD dealerships that sell electric vehicles, ready to serve customers using e-CUV electric motorcycles who need to swap batteries, in addition to the option of charging at home with the included detachable charging box.

Besides battery swapping cabinets, users can also find several Honda charging stations at dealerships. According to information previously shared by Honda, the charging stations located at HEAD dealerships use the CHAdeMO fast charging standard for electric motorcycles, part of the Honda Motor Charger Hub model that the company is rapidly deploying in Vietnam and Thailand.

Honda's charging stations and battery swapping cabinets at the Doanh Thu HEAD dealership in Hanoi. Photo: Doanh Thu HEAD.

The serious moves Honda has been implementing at a rapid pace recently show that the Japanese automaker does not want to stand idly by and watch its two-wheeled vehicle market share be completely swallowed up by electric motorcycle manufacturers.

Honda's strengths remain its brand value and the proven quality of its vehicles over three decades in the Vietnamese market. However, ultimately, in the field of electrification, Honda is essentially a "newcomer," and must be wary of the rather aggressive expansion that VinFast is undertaking in its home market.

VinFast will continue to accelerate.

In 2025, VinFast not only became the leading electric motorcycle brand in Vietnam but also surpassed Yamaha to become the second-best-selling two-wheeler in the Vietnamese market.

VinFast's goals likely don't stop here, and with the current strong trend of electrification, the Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer is highly likely to continue its acceleration, or even achieve greater breakthroughs in the next phase.

VinFast will continue to accelerate strongly in the future. Photo: Phuc Hau.

To prepare for the new competition with Honda, VinFast has recently been continuously launching many new products, spanning diverse segments such as electric motorcycles for students, dual-battery electric motorcycles, and, notably, interchangeable-battery electric motorcycles like the VinFast Evo, VinFast Feliz II, VinFast Viper, and soon the VinFast Flazz Max.

VinFast is also the most aggressive name in the electric motorbike battery swapping market, having quickly expanded its battery swapping station network to provinces and cities nationwide.

The VinFast electric motorcycle battery swapping system is planned to have 150,000 stations across Vietnam, and with the current progress, the company is likely to complete its plan soon.

Battery swapping stations could be a key "weapon" for VinFast. Photo: Phuc Hau.

VinFast's actions show that the company is not hiding its ambition to maintain its number one position in the electric motorcycle segment, or even further, to compete head-to-head with Honda in the overall two-wheeler market.

Despite possessing many advantages over its competitors, VinFast still needs to be aware that the two-wheeler market in Vietnam currently has many other players, such as Dat Bike, Yadea, and Selex Motors. It would be overly optimistic to say that these brands have a chance to compete on equal footing with VinFast or Honda, but the unknown factors that Dat Bike and Yadea bring could make the Vietnamese market more interesting.

The unknown factor from competitors.

Dat Bike is currently a brand of electric motorcycles that has attracted considerable attention from Vietnamese customers recently. To refresh its product range and increase competitiveness, Dat Bike has launched the ERA series, which boasts a more "neutral" appearance but still inherits the advantages of a spacious storage compartment and good operating range from the Quantum S series.

Speaking to Tri Thức - Znews , a sales consultant at a Dat Bike dealership in Ho Chi Minh City said that customer reaction to the Dat Bike ERA has been quite positive. The number of orders remains high, meaning delivery is expected around September, provided customers decide to place a deposit now.

The newly launched Dat Bike ERA has become a sensation in Vietnam. Photo: Phuc Hau.

Meanwhile, Yadea announced a partnership with VGX – a company formed through a collaboration between Selex Motors, Petrolimex, and Xuan Cau Holdings – to jointly research, develop, and deploy a smart interchangeable battery solution for Yadea electric motorcycles.

The system will be connected to a nationwide network of shared battery swapping stations developed by VGX.

The aforementioned developments show that the Vietnamese electric motorcycle market is extremely vibrant, with a series of notable moves from many participating manufacturers. Overall, this vibrancy benefits Vietnamese customers, as it offers a diverse product range in terms of models, brands, and prices, along with various charging and battery swapping options, allowing customers to choose an electric motorcycle that suits their needs.

The Vietnamese electric motorcycle market has moved beyond its preparation phase and is now entering a boom phase, ready to threaten the market share of gasoline-powered motorcycles. Data shared by Motorcycles Data shows that Vietnam is currently the world's fourth-largest two-wheeler market, but electric motorcycle sales now rank third globally.

Source: https://znews.vn/honda-vinfast-doi-dau-tren-thi-truong-xe-may-viet-post1655241.html