A clean pair of wheels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Son Nguyen, founder and CEO of \u00adelectric motorcycle company Dat Bike<\/a>, is on a mission to make electric transport accessible to millions. Born and raised in Vietnam, Nguyen\u2019s skills as a high-school computer programmer earned him a place at the University of Illinois, United States, and led to a role as a software engineer in a Silicon Valley firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Splitting his time between the United States and Vietnam made Nguyen acutely aware of the different directions the two countries were taking in mobility. Electric cars were becoming commonplace on the streets of California, but \u201cat home in Vietnam, more people moving into cities led to lots of polluting gasoline-powered motorbikes on the streets.\u201d Across Asia, he says, there are 250 million people who use \u201ca gas guzzling motorbike\u201d as their everyday transport. This made him think that electrifying those machines could be \u201ca solution to a very impactful problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dat Bike makes Vietnam\u2019s first domestically produced electric motorbikes. The company aims to match gasoline machines for price and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was just one catch: Nguyen had no experience in motorcycle design, or electric powertrains, \u201cso I quit my job and started learning.\u201d Over the next few months, he put himself through a crash course in engineering to pick up critical skills, such as welding. Within a year, he had made his first prototypes. Showing them online attracted some early investors. It was time to go back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arriving in Vietnam to set up Dat Bike, Nguyen had two priorities for his product: It should match its fossil-fuel counterparts for price and performance, and it should be locally manufactured to the highest degree possible. After a TV appearance, the tiny company was inundated with inquiries from potential suppliers and investors. Six months later, its first machines rolled off the \u00adproduction line. With more than 80 percent of its suppliers located in the country, Dat Bike\u2019s Weaver model was Vietnam\u2019s first domestically produced electric motorbike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The machines are a hit. Dat Bike increased its manufacturing capacity fivefold during the first half of 2022, but its latest Weaver 200 model bikes were still sold out months in advance. So far, \u00adcustomers are willing to wait. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like it on the market,\u201d says Nguyen. \u201cRide one for five years and the fuel cost savings alone mean you effectively get the bike for free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Now we’re cooking with gas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n