Jump LinksThe Vietnamese Powerhouse From Instant Noodles To Instant TorqueWhat Does VinFast Make?The VinFast VF8The VinFast VF9The VinFast VF7VinFast Automobiles is a brand that is very new to the automotive world, only launching in the late 2010s, but it has made a huge splash in that time. With over 13,000 employees, billions in revenue and a wide range of models all over the world, its rise has been surprisingly quick. It entered the US market in 2022, facing some controversy, but its cars are still selling. In this article, we will look at what exactly the VinFast brand is, who makes VinFast cars, what cars it sells in the US, and what trials and tribulations these Vietnamese electric cars face.Trying to get ahead of Hyundai's EV rollout, but other Asian brand's like Honda have put the brakes on theirsThis article is focusing on VinFast in the US market, so the models discussed do not include vehicles sold elsewhere. Where Did VinFast Come From? The Vietnamese Powerhouse VinFast While marketed and now based in Vietnam, Vingroup, the company that owns VinFast, was originally set up in Ukraine in 1993 by its founder, Phạm Nhật Vượng. The company initially made dried food products, specializing in instant noodles, so the jump to making a range of electric cars is a rather winding story.The company moved to Vietnam in 2000, and went from strength to strength, branching out in very weird ways. Vingroup launched an amusement park in 2006 called Vinpearl Land, bought and rebranded a huge supermarket chain into VinMart in 2014, and set up an animal conservation program in 2015. It also has huge stakes in construction and property, healthcare and, for a short time, even produced its one Vinphones. The company has seen some decline in recent years, but it is still a huge conglomerate. In 2017, the brand turned its sights to the automotive sector and brough a new car brand to the market. VinFast The Car Brand From Instant Noodles To Instant Torque VinFast VinFast was launched in 2017, building its first factory on Cat Hai Island near the city of Hai Phong. The factory was built in 21 months, and had a capacity of around 250,000 cars. It was a quick brand spin up, as VinFast had its first show cars already built in 2018, ready for the Paris motorshow in the fall. The LUX A2.0 and the LUX SA 2.0, designed by Pininfarina and Italdesign Giugiaro, showed the company's intent to be taken seriously.General Motors took an interest in the brand, working with it on a variety of models and factory rights in Asia in 2018. By 2019, the first few production models were shipped across the world to get their safety ratings and government approval. Covid would hurt the brand's trajectory, but there were also other issues appearing in the company. VinFast hired Michael Lohscheller, the CEO of Opel, in July 2021, where he would only last five months, resigning in December. It was also reported that the brand had only managed to sell 7,400 car sales in 2022, all of which were in its home market. This coincided with the sale of its testing facility. VinFast merged with Black Spade Capital in 2023 and took out over three billion in loans and pledges in 2024, but it was optimistically looking to the future, looking to build factories in the US and Europe. In late 2022, the brand launched into the US market with its VF 8 electric crossover. VinFast In The US What Does VinFast Make? VinFast Currently, VinFast sells/plans to sell three models in the US market. We will look through each one, and where they fit in the market. The VinFast VF 8 The VF 8 was the first product of VinFast North America, and it was a rather divisive car when it came out. The initial hype around the launch of the VinFast brand was big. A new, fast-moving brand coming to the US to do battle with established names like Tesla was exciting. Electric cars were a more popular choice in 2023, and VinFast was offering a great warranty package, technology, and looks in the hottest segment in the market. A 10-year battery and a 10-year/125,000-mile overall warranty, and a scheme that saw customers get paid for any inconvenience caused if their VinFast broke down seemed too good to be true. When the VF 8 did get into customers and reviewers' hands, the hype quickly turned into confusion. The model suffered from widespread and widely published allegations of technical issues and glitches, along with some drivetrain quirks. Build quality was also poor, with CarBuzz reviewer Ian Wright finding out first hand. VinFast was quick to respond, as later model year VF 8s have improved the quality massively, but some worry it's too little too late.It is still on sale today, with a starting MSRP of $39,900, and some ludicrously low lease deals. It boasts 256 miles of range, a Pininfarina design, and all the modern amenities from its 15.6-inch touch-screen infotainment system."The first thing we noticed was a gap at the front of the back doors, wide enough to show the paint color behind. We were wondering if that was a design choice and started noticing that hardly any panel on the vehicle had the same panel gap as the one next to it; some panels sat further out than others, and a lot of trim pieces didn't line up with the one next to it. In short, the fit and finish of the cars were not good."- Ian Wright, Senior Road Tester, CarBuzz The VinFast VF9 The VF 9 is the VF 8's bigger brother. It is a true three-row electric SUV, and if it had launched when it was initially planned to, it would have been a real trendsetter. Sadly, it was delayed by over a year, but VinFast made up for this by slashing a whopping $10,000 off the initial MSRP. The VF 9 currently starts at $62,900 and is offered in one trim level. It is a rather handsome-looking affair, and rivals other mainstream electric three-rows like the Hyundai Ionic 9 and Kia EV9. There were once two trim levels, the Eco and Plus, but now only the Plus remains, and it's a far cry from the $91,000 VinFast had planned. It is a totally acceptable car but does suffer from slow charging times compared to rivals. The VinFast VF 7 VinfastThe next model due to come to the US, the VF 7, is a smaller compact electric crossover. It will have 268 miles of range from a 75.3-kWh battery along with 348 hp. Little is known about it other than its MSRP aimed to be around $40,000, and that it will arrive around 2027, if at all. It will have level 2 autonomous driving technology, and a new A-wing design style. What Is Next For VinFast In The US? Kyle Conner / Out Of Spec Studios / Facebook Poor VinFast is in a very weird position. It is clearly big enough as a new brand that it can stomach the financial hit of slow sales, but the brand's reputation was so damaged by the initial launch of the VF 8 that one wonders if it will last. The brand had plans to build a huge production facility in North Carolina that was partly funded by $1.2 billion in state and county incentives. VinFast has since delayed this plant, due to economic challenges, macroeconomic uncertainties, and a shift in the global EV landscape. The new timeline has it beginning in 2028, seemingly a lifetime from the promises of 2022 that were initially given. The current crop of vehicles is beginning to lag behind the competition, and the tactic of stunningly good lease deals means the company can't be making much profit per unit.It remains to be seen what VinFast will become in the US, but if the EV market continues on its current trajectory, being a niche, lesser known EV maker is not the place you want to be in.
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