Vietnam extends electric‑car tax exemption to 2030, mandates child car seats from 2026

The Vietnamese Government issued Decree 202/2026/ND‑CP on 8 June 2026, amending earlier rules on vehicle registration fees. The decree extends the zero‑percent registration tax for battery‑electric cars until 31 December 2030, with the amendment taking effect on 1 March 2027. The original exemption, introduced in March 2022 for three years, proved popular: registrations of electric cars rose from 4,040 units in 2022 to 178,668 units in 2025, averaging about 14,889 per month.

Separately, Decree 168/2024, effective 1 July 2026, makes the use of child safety seats compulsory on private vehicles for children under 10 years old and under 1.35 m in height. Drivers who allow a child to sit in the front seat or fail to use an approved seat face fines of VND 800,000‑1,000,000. The regulation outlines recommended seat types: rear‑facing seats for infants, forward‑facing seats with harnesses for older children, and booster seats until the child can safely use the vehicle’s own seat belt, typically up to age 12‑13.