E5 RON 92 vs E10 RON 95 in Vietnam: Grade Labels and What Honda and Yamaha Say About E10

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade says that since 1 June 2026 unleaded petrol has had to be blended into E10, while E5 RON 92 continues to be blended until the end of 2030. That changes how E5 RON 92 vs RON 95 reads in the Ministry’s price notice, which on 22 October 2026 lists the two grades as E5RON92 and E10RON95-III. This article collects what the Ministry, Honda Vietnam and Yamaha Motor Vietnam say about E10 and E5 petrol and about fuel for their motorbikes, from pages dated between August 2025 and 22 October 2026 (Yamaha’s notice shows no date). No page covers rental bikes, and the section “What the pages leave out” lists what is missing.

What changed on 1 June 2026

The Ministry’s 22 October notice summarises Circular 50/2025/TT-BCT, issued on 7 November 2025. From 1 June 2026, it says, unleaded petrol must be blended into E10 for petrol engines nationwide, and E5RON92 continues to be blended for petrol engines until the end of 31 December 2030. The Ministry’s question-and-answer page of 29 May 2026 lists E5RON92 and RON95 as the common petrol grades on the market before that date. In remarks reported on 28 May 2026, a Deputy Minister gives the reason for keeping E5: older vehicles that are not yet compatible with E10.

E5 RON 92 vs RON 95: what the labels show

The Ministry’s question-and-answer page defines E5 and E10 as mixtures of bio-ethanol and base petrol, with ethanol at 4 to 7.5% by mass in E5 and 8 to 10% in E10. Base petrol, it says, means unleaded mineral grades such as RON92 and RON95. The table sets those definitions beside the 22 October notice.

The prices are ceilings, written as not higher than, and apply from 15:00 on 22 October 2026 until the Ministry announces the next base price. No station price was read for this article. Honda’s description gives E10 as 9 to 10% ethanol with an octane number not below 92. That minimum and the Ministry’s specific RON 95 product label are different kinds of information; a minimum of 92 does not imply a product must be exactly 92. Do not select fuel from the E5 or E10 name alone: match both octane and ethanol requirements to the exact bike’s manual and obtain the shop’s written confirmation if uncertain.

Why the E10 ceiling is lower

The notice explains the gap of 148 VND per litre. On the world market, the average RON95 finished petrol used to blend E10RON95-III was only 1.126 USD per barrel, about 182 VND per litre, above the RON92 used for E5RON92. The special consumption tax rate is 7% for E10RON95-III and 8% for E5RON92. Taking all the input factors together, the notice says, the E10RON95-III base price comes out 148 VND per litre below the E5RON92 base price; it does not itemise how the 148 is built up. On that page’s numbers, then, the label with the higher octane figure carries the lower ceiling.

What Honda Vietnam says about fuel

Honda Vietnam’s page of 6 August 2025 says the fuel named in its owner manuals should have an octane number of 91 or higher, for motorcycles and cars (the page makes an exception for the Civic Type R, which needs 95 or higher), and, for motorcycles, an ethanol content not above 10%. On that basis it tells customers they can be reassured about E10 compatibility, and it points readers to the section on choosing petrol in each model’s manual. Both label numbers, 92 and 95, are above Honda’s stated 91 (assuming Honda’s octane number is the research octane number, which the page does not state), which is an observation from the figures rather than a Honda statement: the page does not mention E5 RON 92 and does not compare the two grades. For finding the manual for a given bike, see Find the Exact Manual for Your Rental Scooter: Model Code, Year and Market.

What Yamaha Motor Vietnam says about its models

Yamaha’s notice, which shows no date in the text read, sorts its models by fuel system. In what it calls an initial overall assessment, Yamaha says fuel-injection (FI) models can run E10 with no effect on performance, power, fuel consumption, durability or emissions. The Ministry’s page, by contrast, records higher E10 consumption in some tests (below); the two pages do not refer to the same vehicles and neither reconciles them. Carburettor models made from 2017 are listed as compatible with E10, while carburettor models made before 2017 are recommended to use E5. The production year is on the label attached to the bike; for another manufacturer label on a bike, see Motorbike Tyre Pressure for Rental Riders: Read the Manufacturer Label.

The appendix lists, for example, JANUS-BJ71 (2017, FI, E5 and E10), FREEGO-B4U5 (2021, FI, E5 and E10) and EXCITER-1S93 (2007, carburettor, E5). The notice gives three ways to spot an FI bike: an FI mark on the sticker or instrument cluster, the fuel pump audible for about 3 seconds at key-on, and an engine warning lamp that lights at key-on and goes out if the bike is working properly. It adds that idle speed may change on some bikes and should be checked at service, and that long-used or unmaintained bikes may shed deposits and rust into the fuel system after a switch to E10 or E5.

What the Ministry says about compatibility, fuel use and appearance

The Ministry’s question-and-answer page says most motorbikes and cars in circulation can use E10. It names exceptions: a light-truck line produced from 1996 to 2023 and a small number of older Suzuki motorbikes whose E10 compatibility is not confirmed. Vehicles too old to confirm compatibility, it says, should use E5. The Deputy Minister page of 28 May 2026 also records the Ministry recommending periodic fuel-system checks for vehicles that are very old, little used or poorly maintained.

A Ministry page of 15 June 2026 says the industry department’s first review found that most current petrol models were confirmed compatible with E5 and E10 under the technical criteria in national technical regulation QCVN 01:2022/BKHCN, with reports from some makers still awaited. It asked makers to list fully compatible, conditionally compatible and not-recommended vehicles, and it prepared guidance for groups needing attention, including very old vehicles and carburettor vehicles. On fuel use, the question-and-answer page records some tests, for some vehicle types, with about 2 to 3% higher consumption on E10 than on the same mineral petrol, and other tests, for other vehicle types, with the opposite result. It also says E10 is hard to tell from other petrol by eye and has no standard colour.

What the pages leave out

No page names a petrol grade for a rental scooter or mentions rented bikes, so who chooses the fuel on a hired bike is not covered. None explains the suffixes such as -III in the labels. The Ministry figures are ceilings, not station prices, and no page says whether every pump sells both grades. Honda’s page does not mention E5 RON 92 and predates 1 June 2026; its stated minimum octane number is not a comparison of the two retail grades. No date was readable in Yamaha’s notice, and its appendix, as read, is incomplete. No Honda model list or owner manual was read, no page states that a named model cannot run E10 (Yamaha’s appendix gives E5 as the recommended fuel for named pre-2017 carburettor models), and none gives a consumption figure for E10 compared with E5. For a general pre-rental check of the bike, see Scooter Rental Hanoi: How to Check the Bike First – Complete Pre-Rental Inspection Guide.

Sources checked

• Ministry of Industry and Trade, 22 October 2026: Price notice
• Ministry of Industry and Trade, 29 May 2026: 85 questions on E10
• Ministry of Industry and Trade, 28 May 2026: Deputy Minister on E10
• Ministry of Industry and Trade, 15 June 2026: Vehicle compatibility report
• Honda Vietnam, 6 August 2025: E10 and Honda engines
• Yamaha Motor Vietnam, undated: E5 and E10 compatibility notice

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