Vingroup

This tiny hatchback launches the VinFast car brand.

You probably haven’t heard of VinFast, the local Vietnamese automaker. But VinFast aims to get its name out there, by producing a succession of new models, beginning with a $17,000 hatchback debuting this month.

VinFast is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vingroup, one of the largest private enterprises in Vietnam. Up to now, this southeast-Asian country of nearly 100 million citizens has relied on foreign manufacturers to supply its burgeoning consumer base with new vehicles. The automaker launched in 2017, relying on homegrown and foreign talent to shape the company. They’ve also partnered with some of the most influential names in the business to develop its own models, including BMW, Pininfarina, General Motors, and Magna Steyr.

Now Launching: VinFast Fidal

The VinFast Fidal has the distinction of launching this company’s production aspirations, a subcompact hatchback retailing from $16,900. The company claims 10,000 early orders for the hatchback and plans to make upwards of 250,000 vehicles during its initial stage of operation.

By 2025, the automaker expects to double production capacity. In about a year, we’ll see the first exports shipped abroad. The U.S. market, however, is not included, although that may change.

The VinFast Fidal is only slightly larger than the Chevrolet Spark.

A quick examination of the VinFast product line reveals that the vehicles aren’t fully built in Vietnam. For example, the hatchback’s chassis comes from Opel’s Karl Rocks’ model. Opel was recently owned by GM and is now a PSA Groupe subsidiary. As for the upcoming sedans and utility vehicle, both are based on BMW frames. The vehicles were designed by Pininfarina, the Italian design studio.

VinFast boasts 32 dealerships and showrooms nationwide, as of this writing. At the beginning of the month, the company started offering test drive opportunities for shoppers. Those who participated in the initial test drive program will also have an opportunity to receive a car in a handover ceremony on June 17.

“With the delivery of VinFast Fadil on schedule with customers, and the opening of a car factory only 21 months after the commencement, we have completed a huge amount of normal work. Other manufacturers take 36 to 60 months. The test drive program at dealers is organized before customers officially receive the car is the affirmation of our commitment to do everything to bring the best satisfaction and experience for Vietnamese consumers, ” said Mr. James Deluca – General Director of VinFast.

Fidal Overview: Specs and Key Features

The VinFast Fidal has a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an output of 98 horsepower and 128 foot-pounds of torque. A continuously variable transmission sends power to the front wheels.

The Fadil is available in six colors and has an adjustable steering column, 7-inch touchscreen, and a six-speaker audio system. All models come with aluminum wheels, six airbags, a parking assist system, stability control, and a rear vision camera.

Modern conveniences, including a touchscreen display, are among the Fadil’s standard features.

Two Additional Models Planned

VinFast will follow up with two additional models — the Lux A2.0 sedan and the Lux SA2.0 SUV. Both vehicles will ride on a rear-wheel-drive platform powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 228 horsepower and 350 foot-pounds of torque. A ZF 8-speed automatic transmission sends power to the wheels. Both models were showcased at the most recent Paris Motor Show.

VinFast’s success is not assured, despite its homegrown appeal. Indeed, the Vietnamese consumer has shown its preference for foreign brands, most notably for their “high-quality products,” reports Bloomberg. Nevertheless, the company has invested the equivalent of US$3.5 billion to ensure VinFast products have what it takes to meet the country’s growing demand for passenger vehicles.

Photos copyright VinFast.

VinFast aims to grow with Vietnam’s car market.

If you consider Vietnam, automotive manufacturing is not one of its strong suits. But with more than 93 million people, this southeast Asia nation is following a well-established passage taken by other emerging countries as consumers trade up from scooters and motorcycles to automobiles.

So far, the Vietnamese market has been served mostly by Chinese manufacturers, along with Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and GM. But the country’s leaders see an opportunity for a native manufacturer to take root and earn its own slice of the consumer pie. That company is VinFast, the automotive arm of the Vingroup, which is a leader in Vietnam’s construction and real estate sectors.

VinFast and GM

Indeed, VinFast has already inked an agreement with one automaker, the General Motors Company, to launch its nascent enterprise. In June, the two companies signed a strategic partnership whereby GM will transfer its Hanoi plant, dealer network and employee base to VinFast by the end of 2018.

As part of the transfer agreement, VinFast will produce small cars under a GM global license beginning in 2019. Further, VinFast will become the exclusive distributor of Chevrolet models throughout the country. In effect, GM is entrusting VinFast to further its own growth.

VinFast at the Paris Motor Show

But a strategic partnership with GM isn’t the only thing VinFast is doing to make a name for itself. For example, the automaker is working with the Pininfarina design and engineering company to develop its first two vehicles — a sedan and an SUV.

Just this week, VinFast released sketches of the new models and announced plans to unveil prototypes at the 2018 Paris Motor Show in October.

The two models will not be manufactured at the Hanoi plant. Instead, the company is building a new plant in northern Vietnam to accommodate the new models and others that will follow.

When the assembly plant is operational it will produce the two new models, with sales set to commence in September 2019. The company plans to saturate the domestic market before launching abroad a few years later. With a top capacity of 500,000 units, the new plant launches as consumer demand for passenger vehicles surges.

Company Leadership

Besides working with GM and Pininfarina, the company hired outside executives to build the enterprise. James DeLuca is the company’s Chief Executive Officer, who had a long history working at GM. He began his senior management career in 2002 as the plant manager for GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana. From there, he headed the stamping operation in Pontiac, Michigan.

Beginning in 2008, DeLuca traveled to South Korea to head Product Quality for GM Daewoo. Following stints in China and Michigan, DeLuca retired from GM in 2016, ending his 37-year tenure with the company. But his retirement didn’t last long as VinFast appointed him CEO in September 2017.

DeLuca is one of four members of the company’s executive team. Le Thi Thu Thuy is the Chairwoman of VinFast and also serves as Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup. Le Thanh Hai is the CEO of VinFast Trading and Service, while David Lyon is the Executive Design Director. Both Hai and Lyon previously held senior positions with GM.

Ready, Set, Launch

VinFast’s $US1.5 billion investment in a new manufacturing plant, its collaboration with GM and the Pininfarina design relationship collectively underscore its purpose. By debuting its new models on a world stage, its mission as an automotive manufacturer should become clear.

Finally, with Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) projected to rise by at least 6.5-percent annually over the next three years and car ownership expected to double within just a few years, VinFast’s launch couldn’t come at a better time.