VinFast, which has global aspirations and is looking to penetrate the West, will be setting up shop in Indonesia soon. Detik reports that the Vietnam carmaker has trademarked its intellectual property in the republic and the range includes a sedan and two SUVs.
According to Yannes Martinus Pasaribu, an academician and auto industry observer from Institut Teknologi Bandung, VinFast is not likely to go head to head with the Japanese marques that dominate the Indonesian market – think Toyota and Daihatsu.
Instead, the newcomer’s strategy is to introduce EVs in Indonesia, he says, pointing out that the Vietnamese company started from e-scooters and now makes electric cars and buses. VinFast also has a collaboration with Austria’s Kreisel Electric to develop battery packs, he adds.
“Also notable is that Vietnam has nickel, cobalt and other minerals needed to make batteries, the main component of EVs. They’ve developed an end-to-end ecosystem with the strategy of using the best and most reliable tech. Besides large scale production of EVs, Vietnam is also developing charging stations and battery factories,” Yannes said.
The analyst further points out that as part of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, funding is not an issue for VinFast, and the young company is not bound by legacy tech, such as the Japanese carmakers in Indonesia. This allows it to be more agile and flexible in following global EV trends.
There are three models in the VinFast trademark documents, and they appear to be the Lux SA 2.0, the Lux A 2.0 and an EV that looks similar to the VinFast e35. The Lux SA is a big SUV based on the previous generation F15 BMW X5, while the Lux A is a Pininfarina reskinned F10 BMW 5 Series. Both were unveiled at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. The VF e35, formerly known as the VF32, is a big electric SUV that has been earmarked for North America and Europe next year. It’s set to debut next month in Vietnam.
We’ve covered VinFast a fair bit, including this in-depth feature story on who’s behind the carmaker, and how it all started. Also click on these links for further reading on VinFast’s global aspirations, its EV battery strategy, and a potential US initial public offering (IPO) that could value the company at US$50 billion (RM207 billion).
GALLERY: VinFast LUX A 2.0
GALLERY: VinFast LUX SA 2.0
GALLERY: VinFast at the 2018 Paris Motor Show
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy (L) and David Beckham (R) shake hands next to Director of Design of VinFast Dave Lyon (C) as they attend VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** Dave Lyon;Tran Tieu Vy;David Beckham
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Director of Design of VinFast Dave Lyon, Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy and David Beckham attend VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** Dave Lyon;Tran Tieu Vy;David Beckham
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: David Beckham (R) and Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy (L) attend VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** David Beckham;Tran Tieu Vy
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Director of Design of VinFast Dave Lyon, Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy, Vice-Chairwoman of Vingroup and Chairwoman of VinFast Le Thi Thu Thuy, David Beckham and CEO of Vinfast Jim DeLuca pose for a picture during VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** Dave Lyon;Tran Tieu Vy;Le Thi Thu Thuy;David Beckham;Jim DeLuca
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Director of Design of VinFast Dave Lyon, Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy, Vice-Chairwoman of Vingroup and Chairwoman of VinFast Le Thi Thu Thuy, David Beckham and CEO of Vinfast Jim DeLuca pose for a picture during VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** Dave Lyon;Tran Tieu Vy;Le Thi Thu Thuy;David Beckham;Jim DeLuca
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) , Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy, CEO of Vinfast Jim DeLuca, Vice-Chairwoman of Vingroup and Chairwoman of VinFast Le Thi Thu Thuy, Director of Design of VinFast Dave Lyon and David Beckham pose for a picture during VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** Dave Lyon;Tran Tieu Vy;Le Thi Thu Thuy;David Beckham;Jim DeLuca
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- PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: David Beckham poses for a picture during VinFast launch at the Paris Motor Show at Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles on October 2, 2018, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images For VinFast) *** Local Caption *** David Beckham
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Where is our Proton? Proton gone bankrupt and close shops in Indonesia. Perodua still export their Myvi to Indonesia. Now a Vietnam automaker will sell their Game-Changing cars to Indonesia. Why does a 30 years automotive company cannot do well in overseas market? I think Proton should learn more from Geely and Perodua.
Hello tin kosong Roti Kunta. Perodua export under Daihatsu brand name not their own, they have near zero presence on their own in other SEA countries. Dun shiok sendiri with your jaguh kampung, without NAP your nothing outside of malaysia. Why perodua 30 years old rebadger company still cannot do well outside of malaysia? It is becus there is no NAP there, and we could have gotten better cars for less money
Lol.. if Vinfast enter Indo intent to compete with toyota or honda.. they will end-up like proton. Instead they choose premium market.
I don’t think so if Proton must learn from Gelly, since Gelly brand is also failed in Indonesia.
As an Indonesian, why Proton failed is because they lacked of dealers and service outlets. The product itself is still can compete against competitors in the region.
I think if Vinfast is really entering Indonesian market, the main competitor would be Hyundai and Volkswagen, since those brands really go upmarket now.
Feeding off 1% in Vietnam and 1% in Indonesia, I wonder how will it survive in the next 10 years. Lucky they have a dumb investors willing to burn billions of cash with no returns. It beginning to sound like a money laundering story for triads and Viet shady businesses.
Hello tin kosong Gary,You have been seeing too much Hong kong serials on triads and mafia money laundering.
When people excel,dont pour cold water.No investor is dumb.
If you dun have a clue how money laundering works, then you better shut up.
Vinfast, where are the affordable EV cars we Aseans can buy?
https://paultan.org/2021/09/04/opinion-we-now-have-premium-evs-in-malaysia-but-where-are-the-affordable-electric-cars-that-we-can-buy/
criticise this car in vietnam and u will get arrested
And people said Vinfast doesn’t have protection
And people said Vinfast doesn’t have protection
And people said they don’t have protection