Vietnamese automaker VinFast is looking to further expand its European market growth strategy beyond its originally planned debut in Germany, France and the Netherlands next year, Reuters has reported. VinFast will debut a pair of electric SUVs in Europe next year, the VF e35 and the VF e36 seven-seater.
Following its plans to enter the European and North American markets in 2022, VinFast has opened offices in both regions, with the state of California among the first to open showrooms in the United States.
The next step in the VinFast European expansion plan will include Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria, said VinFast business sales vice president Emiel Hendriksen. The brand will initially use a direct distribution model in Germany, France and the Netherlands, though it may also consider an agency model for sales operations in other countries, Hendriksen said.
The Vietnamese brand has sold around 30,000 vehicles in its home market last year, and has targeted a volume of 15,000 electric vehicles for next year, which has been revised downwards from an initial forecast of 56,000 units because of the global chip shortage.
News of this European market expansion by VinFast comes after a report that it has trademarked its intellectual property in Indonesia, indicating that it will be setting up operations in the republic soon as well. VinFast has been observed by an Indonesian industry observer to be unlikely to compete directly with the large-volume Japanese brands, namely Toyota and Daihatsu, and will instead push upmarket.
In April, parent company Vingroup was reported to be considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States for VinFast, said to raise USD2 billion (RM8.3 billion), with the aim of getting a valuation of at least USD50 billion (RM206.5 billion) from its listing.
Where its influence on its European presence is concerned, any decision pertaining to the IPO is up to the company’s head office in Vietnam, said VinFast Europe CEO Bich Tran. “Our European plans are independent from any IPO. We’re carrying on with our plans, everything in Europe is moving as planned,” she said, according to Reuters.
On the technology side, VinFast has revealed battery technology that the automaker claims will enable charging of batteries to 80% state of charge in just five minutes, using nanoparticle anodes rather than the more commonly used graphite.
In addition to its work with ProLogium on the development and production of solid-state batteries, VinFast has also signed an MoU with Gotion High-Tech to develop and produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are more stable, cheaper to make and are more sustainable compared to lithium-ion batteries.
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Meh. Let’s see if this brand will still be alive comes 2023 then we talklah.
It’s too simple. If Perodua and Proton still exist until 2023; Vinfast is similar.
Both these brands have economy of scale selling cars to the masses. What is Vinfast strategy selling to their 1%? They are not Ferraris so they cannot leverage on brand premium to justify their selling price.
Vietnamese try to sell their own cars to germany lol