How many years is use life of cars in Vietnam?

How many years is use life of cars in Vietnam?

According to Article 4 of Decree 95/2009/ND-CP amended and supplemented by Article 6 and Article 7 of Circular 21/2010/TT-BGTVT stipulating use life of automobiles according to the following regulations: 

Service life of a modified motor vehicle begins from the year in which such vehicle is manufactured before the modification. To be specific:

1. A bus that exceeds its service life and is converted to a truck will have a service life that must not exceed 25 years (according to Clause 1 Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP).

2. A bus with at least 10 seats (including the driving seat) and special passenger vehicle that are converted to a bus with less than 09 seats (including the driving seat) will have a service life that must not exceed 20 years (according to Clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP).

3. A truck that is converted to a special motor vehicle will have a service life that must not exceed 25 years (according to Clause 1 Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP).

4. A truck and bus with up to 09 seats (including the driving seat) that are converted to a truck will have a service life that must not exceed 25 years (according to Clause 1 Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP).

5. A truck that was converted to a bus before January 01, 2002 will have a service life that must not exceed 17 years (according to Point c Clause 1 Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP).

Article 7 of Circular 21/2010/TT-BGTVT determines the useful life of automobiles as follows:

1. The service life of motor vehicles specified in Article 4 of the Decree No. 95/2009/ND-CP shall be expressed as years from the year in which such motor vehicles are manufactured and shall be determined in the following order of priority:

a) The vehicle’s vehicle identification number (VIN)

b) The vehicle’s chassis number;

c) Technical documentation: catalogue, specifications manual, identification software or information of the manufacturer;

d) Information on the manufacturer’s label affixed to the vehicle;

dd) Documents: Certificate of quality; Manufacturer’s certificate of quality inspection, regarding domestically manufactured motor vehicles; Inspection or commissioning record, Certificate of quality of modified vehicle, regarding modified motor vehicles; Original documents under the management of the police authority; import documents.

2. It is considered that a motor vehicle exceeds its service life if it does not have any of the documents or bases specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

According to the above regulations in Vietnam, if your car is manufactured in 2007 with a car of less than 9 seats, your car has not yet expired because your car has a useful life of 20 years.

What are penalties for operating car beyond its maximum service life in Vietnam?

In Clause 7, Clause 8, Article 16 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP, the provisions are amended and supplemented by Clause 9 Article 2 of Decree 123/2021/ND-CP on penalties imposed upon by operators of motor vehicles (including trailers or semi-trailers being towed) and the like violating regulations on roadworthiness of vehicles as follows:

7. A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 12,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following offences:

a) Operating a temporarily registered vehicle beyond its temporary operational period; operating a restricted vehicle beyond its permissible operating area;

b) Operating a vehicle (including trailer and semi-trailer) beyond its maximum service life (if limited);

c) Operating an illegally manufactured or assembled vehicle on public road (including modified farm vehicle banned from traffic, trailer and semi-trailer being towed).

8. Apart from incurring fines, the violating operator shall incur the following additional penalties:

a) The offence(s) specified in point a, point b clause 3; clause 4; clause 5; point c clause 6; point a clause 7 of this Article shall lead to suspension of the driver’s license from 01 - 03 months;

b) The offence(s) specified in point a, point b clause 3; clause 4 of this Article shall lead to confiscation of additional lights and horns exceeding loudness limit;

c) The offence(s) specified in point a, point b clause 6 of this Article shall lead to confiscation of the certificate of technical and environmental safety inspection or technical and environmental safety inspection stamp, the certificate of vehicle registration or the license plate that is not conformable with regulations or is falsified; suspension of the driver’s license from 01 - 03 months;

d) The offence(s) specified in point b, point c clause 7 of this Article shall lead to confiscation of the vehicle (except for cases in which automobiles with 10 seats or more providing passenger transportation services whose service life exceeds regulations on business conditions of registered business form less than 20 years from the year of manufacture and automobiles with less than 10 seats providing passenger transportation services) and suspension of the driver’s license from 01 - 03 months;

dd) The offence(s) specified in point a clause 4, point b clause 6 of this Article in case of failure to have the certificate of vehicle registration or using the certificate of vehicle registration that is not issued by a competent authority, on which the vehicle’s chassis or engine number is incorrect or which is falsified (including trailer and semi-trailer) without any document proving the vehicle’s origin (no document concerning the transfer of vehicle ownership or document concerning the vehicle’s legal origin) shall lead to confiscation of the vehicle;

Thus, the driver of the vehicle beyond its maximum service life may be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 12,000,000, may have the vehicle confiscated or have his driving license revoked for 1 to 3 months in Vietnam.

Best Regards!