Debuting on the busy Paris Motor Show floor, VinFast is the newest automaker to burst onto the scene, with some help from David Beckham. But it’s not the cars or even the legendary footballer making waves, however — it’s where the company hails from.
Located in Haiphong, Vietnam, VinFast is the country’s first domestic automaker.
It’s not just some small startup either. VinFast is part of the larger conglomerate known as Vingroup.
That’s probably not a name you recognize. However, within the confines of Vietnam, the Vingroup has its hands in pretty much everything. Just some examples include: real estate, toys, schools, animation studios, and even amusement parks.
The Vingroup is also one of Vietnam’s largest companies with an annual revenue of 89.392 trillion VND ($3.8 billion). It’s safe to say its newest venture has a ton of capital behind it.
To kick off the company, VinFast introduced two models, a sedan and SUV. Both look pretty good too, and for a good reason. VinFast’s design team worked alongside the minds at Pininfarina to style both vehicles.
Unfortunately, the good looks are saddled with appliance-level names. Whether it’s the LUX A2.0 (sedan) or LUX SA2.0 (SUV), they both seem rather plain and uninspiring.
Despite the generic names, both vehicles seem well-tailored for their respective markets. Both will come with a standard 2.0-liter turbo four-pot making 173hp. There’s also an option to upgrade to a sportier version of the same engine turning out 227 ponies.
While neither will set any performance benchmarks, they are reasonably quick. According to VinFast, the 173hp variant will clock 62mph in 8.9 seconds. For the sportier 227hp model, that time drops to 7.1 seconds.
Underneath, both vehicles ride on BMW platforms and use component built by Magna Steyr.
Both the LUX A2.0 and SA2.0 will go on sale in Vietnam next September. However, the company has plans for global export, primarily throughout Southeast Asia. It’s not ruling out other foreign markets though.
In addition to the sedan and SUV, VinFast already has a roadmap for future products. Within the next few years, it expects to produce an all-electric city vehicle. It’ll also venture into the most dominant form of transportation in Vietnam: scooters.
We’re anxious to see how VinFast takes to the market. It’s not often a new automotive startup succeeds, especially in a place without a domestic market to begin with. But, given the huge financial backing from the Vingroup, its odds are pretty good.
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