Vietnam EV Charging Rules: Circular 61/2026 and the VinFast, Petrolimex Impact

Overview

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (Bộ Công Thương) issued Circular 61/2026/TT-BCT, accompanied by a national technical regulation for EV charging posts and stations, effective July 1, 2027. The rule requires public charging infrastructure to be technically interoperable across compatible electric vehicles, to disclose pricing or pricing methodology, and to meet automatic fire, flood and overheating safety cut-offs. It applies to charging operators including VinFast (VFS) and Petrolimex (PLX).

Key Facts

• Circular 61/2026/TT-BCT takes effect on July 1, 2027.
• Public stations, centralized parking facilities and rest-stop chargers fall under the rule; basement, indoor garage and in-building parking chargers are excluded.
• Chargers must automatically warn and cut power on fire, flooding or overheating.
• Domestic and imported charging posts must carry certification marks, conformity declaration and pass testing before operation.
• Existing stations installed before July 2027 may continue operating but must complete a safety review within 6 months and fix defects within a maximum of 24 months from July 1, 2027.
• Vietnam consumed 17,536 battery-electric cars in H1 2026, exceeding full-year 2023 volume of 15,676 units; 17,482 were domestically assembled.
• The World Bank estimates Vietnam’s charging infrastructure capital need at about USD 2.2 billion by 2030, rising to USD 32.6 billion by 2050.

What Happened

The Ministry of Industry and Trade issued the circular together with the national technical regulation, according to the ministry’s announcement. Under the text, charging stations must be engineered so that any road electric vehicle with a compatible connector, charging mode and technical configuration can use them. The requirement covers public areas, centralized parking and rest stops, while excluding internal-use stations, wireless charging equipment, chargers bundled with vehicles, and certain testing and research devices.

Safety provisions require automatic warning and power cut-off systems for fire, flooding or overheating. Charging posts manufactured, assembled domestically or imported must be labeled, conformity-declared and accepted only after testing. Stations already installed before July 2027 may keep operating, but operators must review safety within six months and remedy faults within 24 months of the effective date. Any repair, renovation or expansion after that point must meet the new standard. If a direct safety risk is detected, operators must halt or isolate the affected section; where isolation is impossible, the entire station must stop until fixed.

Market Context

VinFast (VFS) closed at 9,800 on October 5, 2026, while Petrolimex (PLX) closed at 35,500 on the same date. VFS trades on the US Nasdaq exchange, while PLX is listed on HOSE. The circular lands as Vietnam’s EV adoption accelerates, with first-half 2026 battery-electric sales already surpassing all of 2023, and as the government targets 50% of urban vehicles electric by 2030 plus full electrification of buses and taxis. Charging infrastructure is the binding constraint on that trajectory, and the new standard sets the compliance bar for every network operator.

Strategic Significance

For VinFast, the interoperability mandate cuts both ways: it opens the market to third-party operators but also prevents proprietary lock-in from being a durable moat, shifting competition toward network density, uptime and pricing transparency. For Petrolimex, which controls a nationwide fuel retail footprint, the rule creates a common technical standard that lowers the cost of converting stations into multi-brand charging hubs, potentially turning its real-estate network into a competitive advantage against pure-play EV charging operators. The 24-month remediation window gives incumbents time to retrofit, but new builds and expansions must comply immediately, favoring operators with capital and engineering capacity. The World Bank’s USD 2.2 billion 2030 capital estimate implies the standard will shape procurement decisions across the sector for years.

What to Watch

• Compliance filings and conformity declarations from VinFast and Petrolimex charging subsidiaries ahead of July 1, 2027.
• The six-month safety review deadline for existing stations, expected in early 2028.
• Any pricing disclosure by major charging networks, which would reveal the commercial impact of the transparency requirement.
• Ministry of Industry and Trade guidance or amendments clarifying connector standards and testing procedures.
• Monthly EV sales data from the ministry, tracking whether charging standardization accelerates adoption.