Why are there so many scooters in Vietnam?

Why are scooters so common in Vietnam? Reasons & explanations

Okay, so scooters in Vietnam? It's everywhere, right? Like, seriously, a sea of them. I was there last June, in Hanoi, and the sheer number was overwhelming.

The cost, that's the big thing. My friend bought a decent scooter for around $500 USD. A car? Forget it. That's years of salary for most people. Plus, the maintenance on those little bikes is way cheaper.

I saw families piled on them, kids hanging on the back, groceries precariously balanced. It's their lifeblood, their daily commute, their workhorse. Think of it like this: affordable transport is survival.

The roads are crazy busy. Scooters zip through gaps cars can't, weaving in and out with amazing agility, it's a skill you learn fast or don't survive. This was so apparent riding in a Grab car in Ho Chi Minh City.

So yeah, cheap to buy, cheap to run, incredibly practical. That's my take on why Vietnam's scooter-crazy. Makes perfect sense to me, anyway.