• LG Energy Solution, Honda, and the City of Hanoi sign a three-party MoU to support the rollout of battery-swappable electric two-wheelers, including a pilot project with around 50 stations and 500 vehicles.
• The partnership will focus on long-term operation and platform development to support Vietnam’s evolving electric mobility landscape.

A new partnership between LG Energy Solution, Honda, and the City of Hanoi is set to support Vietnam’s electric two-wheeler market through public Battery Swapping Stations (BSS) in the capital. Under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the three parties will work together to build a comprehensive electric two-wheeler ecosystem that includes BSS in central Hanoi, battery standards, safety management systems, and new platform-based business models for electric two-wheelers.

On May 19, 2026, the MoU signing ceremony was attended by Hanoi Mayor Vu Dai Thang; Vice Mayor Truong Viet Dung; Kawabata, Head of Honda’s Mobile Power Pack (MPP) Business Division; and Jae Kwon Kim, Leader of the Mobility & IT Battery Marketing Group. As part of the agreement, a pilot project will introduce approximately 50 BSS across key areas of Hanoi, along with 500 battery-swappable electric two-wheelers.

For the pilot program, LG Energy Solution will supply its cylindrical 2170 batteries and support the overall operation of the battery-swapping system. The company’s role will include infrastructure oversight, operational solutions, and lifecycle and safety management frameworks aimed at improving long-term reliability and efficiency.

Honda will provide battery-swappable electric two-wheelers and battery exchange units. According to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM), Honda held an 86-percent share of Vietnam’s motorcycle market as of 2025. Meanwhile, the City of Hanoi will support the initiative through permits, policy assistance, and local implementation coordination.

The partnership comes as Vietnam remains one of the world’s largest two-wheeler markets, with more than 6 million registered motorcycles and a population of approximately 8.5 million in Hanoi alone. Although Hanoi has long been known as a “motorcycle paradise,” electric vehicle adoption in the city is still at a relatively early stage. According to Vietnam’s National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), the country had approximately 80 million two-wheelers in 2025, but electric models accounted for only around 3.2 million units, or approximately 4 percent of the total market.

The introduction of the new BSS ecosystem supports the city’s efforts to address air pollution and encourage lower-emission mobility. Last year, Hanoi announced plans to improve air quality by gradually restricting the use of internal combustion engine motorcycles in urban areas, with phased implementation beginning in July 2026 and expanding through 2030.

As major cities such as Hanoi implement broader regulations on internal combustion engine motorcycles, competition to establish an early position in the electric mobility market is expected to intensify. Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) predicts that Vietnam’s electric two-wheeler market will continue growing at an average annual rate exceeding 18 percent in the coming years.

LG Energy Solution views this MoU as an opportunity to strengthen its competitiveness in the Southeast Asian market while gaining operational experience and data from electric two-wheeler battery-swapping platforms.

“Vietnam is one of the most important markets for the transition to electric two-wheelers in the region,” said an LG Energy Solution representative. “We will continue contributing to the development of the country’s eco-friendly transportation infrastructure, leveraging our differentiated battery technologies to significantly enhance safety, usage time, and battery lifespan.”

Vice Mayor Truong Viet Dung added, “Korea and Japan are leading countries in battery-swapping stations for electric two-wheelers. We look forward to expanding BSS infrastructure in Hanoi through the technological expertise of LG Energy Solution and Honda.”

As Vietnam’s electric two-wheeler market continues to evolve, the Hanoi pilot project may offer an early look at how BSS infrastructure could influence urban mobility. For LG Energy Solution, the collaboration also offers a way to explore broader opportunities as next-generation mobility ecosystems advance across the region.

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