At least 3,000 new electric buses will be introduced in Vietnam next year as part of a new nonprofit bus service.
Local conglomerate Vingroup made the announcement to introduce the VinBus — an electric bus service that will create a transport system with the objective of reducing emissions and noise, a report in Electrek said.
The bus service is expected to be launched first in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho next March.
Vingroup said that they will put 3,000 buses into operation in the “short term” with charter capital of 1 trillion Dong (nearly US$43 million).
The service will dispatch electric buses that will be manufactured by the automotive startup VinFast — a subsidiary of Vingroup.
The subsidiary will become Vietnam’s first high-volume car manufacturer. It also plans to produce electric cars and scooters in the future.
Operating as a non-profit organization, VinBus will use all of its profits to reinvest into the company for service and hardware upgrades. The service is expected to expand to other cities in the future as well.