The Rise of Electric Taxis in the Public Transportation Sector

This inevitable trend is booming thanks to the economic benefits and the sustainable value to the environment and community that electric cars bring.

“Company profit increased by 10% compared to the period of using petrol cars”

Starting to deploy electric taxi services since October 2023, Taxi Xanh Sapa (Thanh Thuy MTV Company) has received positive feedback from customers, including local residents and domestic and international tourists. Most customers are satisfied with this new transport form thanks to the characteristics of smokeless, noiseless and especially environmentally friendly of electric cars. From the driver’s perspective, using electric vehicles that do not create noise, smoke… will help create a safe working environment, minimize the risk of respiratory diseases.

Taxi Xanh Sapa’s electric fleet

Taxi Xanh Sapa is one of 27 passenger transport companies in Vietnam pioneering in cooperation with GSM and VinFast to switch to green. According to these companies, having additional electric cars helps diversify the service products, build a positive image in the eyes of customers, partners and the community, thereby increasing the ability to attract customers and gain a competitive advantage over traditional car companies.

Lado is one of the early brands that converted to electric cars

In particular, although newly deployed, electric taxis have demonstrated clear business efficiency thanks to fuel and operating cost savings compared to petrol cars. “Electric cars are much more advantageous, helping the company’s profit increase by 10% compared to the period of using petrol cars,” said Mr. Nguyen Quang Thanh, Director of Thanh Thuy MTV Company, representative of Taxi Xanh Sapa.

Meanwhile, Lado Taxi, the first unit to put VinFast electric fleet into operation since May 2022, affirmed that in addition to cost savings in operation, electric cars also demonstrate their durability, a factor that prioritized by transport businesses. “After two years of operation, in addition to replacing supplies like tires, coolant, electric cars hardly need any repairs, helping the company save 5-7% of the maintenance and repair budget compared to using petrol cars,” admitted Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dong, CEO of Dong Thuy Company Ltd., representative of Lado Taxi.

Similarly, the eTaxi service of Ecogo, another partner of GSM and VinFast, after six months of deployment in Dak Lak, also shows high economic efficiency. Mr. Le Thai Khac Thanh, Deputy General Director of Ecogo, said the company estimated that it would save about 2.5 billion VND in fuel costs over a period of 5 years. Along with that, electric cars are easy to maintain and have higher durability, so it will optimize about 1.5 billion VND in maintenance and repair costs. “In total, using electric cars helps the company save about 4 billion VND over 5 years. This is a significant figure, contributing to reducing operating costs and bringing higher profits,” affirmed Mr. Thanh. “With these benefits, electric cars are increasingly being chosen by many businesses to replace petrol cars.”

The trend of “switching from petrol to electric” taxis is booming

In addition to economic benefits, the electrification of the fleet, gradually eliminating internal combustion engine cars, also affirms the commitments of businesses to the environment and sustainable development. After a period of effective deployment, currently, companies plan to continue investing heavily in electric vehicles, even completely stopping the investment in petrol vehicles.

The newest partner of GSM is Son Nam International Transport Company (MaiLove taxi famous in Nghe An), which recently decided to cancel the purchase contract of a fleet of petrol cars from the Japanese carmaker Toyota to switch to electric taxi services. According to Mr. Ho Chuong, CEO of Son Nam Company, realizing that investing in green vehicles is essential for the development of public transport companies, Son Nam has supplemented 305 electric cars VinFast leased from GSM, in addition to the existing petrol fleet.

Son Nam Company cancels the purchase contract of petrol cars to switch to VinFast electric cars

“The hope is that in the future, Son Nam Company can gradually replace the entire fleet with electric taxis to bring benefits to the community. Son Nam Company considers cooperating with GSM as a long-term and sustainable strategy, as well as a gateway for Son Nam Company to tread the path of integration and development with the general trend worldwide,” said Mr. Ho Chuong.

This is also the goal of many taxi companies when they see clear economic benefits from operating electric vehicles. The representative of Taxi Xanh Sapa said that the company plans to gradually liquidate petrol cars in parallel with investing in more electric cars, with the goal of replacing the current petrol fleet with 100% electric cars in 2023 and 2024. Lado Taxi also intends to replace 90% of its cars with electric cars when it identifies “direct benefits in terms of cost, brand value, and customer experience will help the company gain more advantages,” as shared by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dong, the representative of the company.

Xanh SM is present in many provinces, cities, and expands internationally with quality services according to 5-star standard

Currently, in addition to the Xanh SM taxi brand operated by GSM itself, there are 27 companies, partner units participating in the electric car conversion with VinFast and GSM, bringing the total number of electric taxis of these brands nationwide to more than 20,000 cars. The process of cooperation in this green conversion is in line with the Government’s direction towards reducing net emissions and changing the urban transport landscape nationwide. Accordingly, all new taxis put into operation from 2030 must run on electricity. “The trend of switching to electric cars is necessary when the commitments to the environment of the Government need to be realized. Increasing number of businesses participating in the green conversion movement also shows that they have seen the benefits of operating electric cars,” said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dong.

TH (Tuoitrethudo)