VinFast has its sights set on Australia, and is eyeing assets of the just wound down Holden. According to carsales.com.au, the young Vietnamese carmaker – which set up shop in Melbourne last December – has hired Holden engineers, and has showed interest in GM’s unwanted facilities.
According to the report, VinFast, which has global ambitions, moved into Port Melbourne in December 2019. VinFast Engineering Australia aims to initially employ a few hundred engineers at the centre, which is very close to Holden’s headquarters.
“Australia is a developed automobile market which has available suppliers, skills that VinFast wants to tap into. VinFast Engineering Australia is responsible for product development for some of our future car models,” VinFast deputy CEO Jim DeLuca said.
VinFast also reportedly has interest in acquiring GM’s design and engineering facilities that are about to be closed down along with the Holden brand, including the Lang Lang test centre. “We currently work with business partners to do vehicle styling and validation. We are interested in any type of vertical integration that makes us more efficient and the business more cost effective,” DeLuca said in response.
According to carsales, VinFast has already hired prominent Australian automotive execs of late, including manufacturing global VP Shaun Calvert, who worked at Holden and GM between 2001 and 2017.
Other senior hires include 25-year Holden and GM veteran Kevin Yardley, and chassis and powertrain integration chief Joe Sawyer, who has been at Holden for 23 years. It is said that up to 800 people are currently employed at Holden, including hundreds of engineering and design staff, so the pool for VinFast is big.
“We have many Australian colleagues in our plant in Vietnam who have joined us right at the beginning of the project. They have been a critical part of our family and contributing to the success of our company,” DeLuca said.
VinFast is part of the giant Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest privately held business with assets valued at up to US$35 billion (RM148 billion). Majority owned by Russian-educated Vietnamese Pham Nhat Vuong, the conglomerate has interests in real estate, the health industry, retail and even theme parks. Electric vehicles are the goal, with an aim to export EVs to the US in 2021. Vuong is even going to pour in US$2 billion (RM8.45 billion) of his own money to that goal.
“Our ultimate goal is to create an international brand. It will be a very difficult road and we will have to put in a lot of effort. But there’s only one road ahead,” Vuong said in December.
“We have the desire to build a Vietnamese brand that has a world-class reputation. Our biggest challenge is that Vietnamese products do not have an international brand. To many international friends, Vietnam is still a poor, backward country. We will have to find a way to market and prove our products represent a dynamic and developing Vietnam that has reached the highest standards of the world,” he added.
Currently, VinFast offers the Fadil city car (a rebadged Chevrolet Spark), the LUX A2.0 sedan and LUX SA2.0 SUV in its home market. The latter two were the brand’s debut models (unveiled at the 2018 Paris Motor Show by David Beckham), and they’re based on the F10 BMW 5 Series and F15 BMW X5 respectively, with Pininfarina helping with design.
Interesting, isn’t it? Here’s an in-depth look at the ambitious VinFast and its parent company.
Australia is never known for its automobile or any outstanding technology? May be it is always cheaper to get Aussie like what other stingy corporate do. Australia is only known for their lynas that create so much of hoohah to us lah. Selfish.
Malaysian CEOs, especially GLC lembap CEOs must learn from Vietnam how to work fast. Look at Vietnam, they have overtaken Malaysia also. FDI is so high. Malaysia no more FDI also. Something we are doing wrong.
Maybe we should abolish NAP, NEP and Affirmative Policy. Only then, we can move fast like Vietnam and Thailand
Agreed! Coronavirus there also moves faster than here due to no NAP, NEP and Affirmative Policy. Time to match their speed of progress to plague proportions.
Well said Doc.
Shall go china rather than getting those lazy Aussie. Talk only no action.
Vietnamese National Car surprisingly aggressive as China cars.
How about Malaysia National Cars?
Pro1, Pro2 and Pro3….
Vinfast are confident and ambitious, something that our local players didnt have. If u dont have faith in yourself dont expect others to have faith in u.
We don’t have the ability or talent. This is why we sold our National Car company to China even
Good that Perodua finally acknowledge you don’t have the ability and talent. Time to close it down and leave the national car building to Proton.
congrats & well done to vinfast!
a copy-paste look car not designed by vietnamese a vietnamese car? hmmm…….
Main thing is they are going places while we’re stuck in reverse.
Main thing is they are going places while we’re stuck in reverse.
The more important thing is how long can Vinfast last in Australia as a manufacturer. If even car companies like Ford, GM and Toyota considered not economically-viable to continue operating there, what’s the chance an upstart and unproven Vinfast has?
they’re going in but others went out..i thought they should ask why
Idiots go in where angels & devils fear to tread.
The VinFast Fadil is a Opel Karl Rocks/Vauxhall Viva Rocks which is a restyled version of the Chevrolet Spark.
Good move,we build the best cars banf for buck in oz,it was a rather european hatred for australians that devoured industry,Here we pioneed the rear engine f1 concepts,also prestige in dna via f5000s,supercars sports sedans etc,the germans banned us from testing at their ttracks because we embarrased them seriously and to sht any useless troll who assumes we don’t work nor produced the goods aminst the most reliable on earth,just look under ve ss commododores nearing 15 years of age how good they srill run an look,incase any dementy kweer try to pit the mockers on auatralian manufacture which by the way we just got theworlds forst true steath 6rh gen unmanned fighter jet yes usa hates us for this but as you know one australian has the talents of 12 americans ask any prominent nascar or indy car team owner ok!
Now all uyou ptherdic ausztralian hating trolls get this brabham will prove once and for all ozis do it better than you all assumed,look up used 2006 commodores see how well they stand ok,and vietnamese are not stupid peoples like usa feminsts