car news

1. When is VinFast coming to Europe?

Like many other brand-new automakers-which are primarily from China-VinFast has big plans to conquer the world. Unlike most brands from China, VinFast wants to make meters quickly. No half-assed work, but full speed ahead right away. Many Chinese automakers have been promising to come to Europe and the Netherlands for years, but VinFast just gives a time and a place: before the end of the year, they will introduce two all-electric SUVs in France, Germany and the Netherlands: the VF 8 and VF 9. Not much later, the VF 7 is also heading for Europe.

2. Where can I order and view a VinFast?

Around the same time, the brand will open its first physical dealer in Amsterdam, followed soon by four more locations in the Netherlands. There will be 25 stores in Germany and plans for 20 in France. Interested French people can visit Nice, Paris and Marseilles, among others. Germans will soon be able to physically view one of the VinFast models in Munich, Cologne and Berlin. Ordering a VinFast is currently already possible through their Dutch website.

3. Nice, but what exactly is VinFast?

Chances are you’ve never heard of the brand. VinFast is part of the Vingroup and has only been making cars since 2017. With the help of Pininfarina and BMW, two models were introduced to the Vietnamese market in 2018: the Lux A2.0 and Lux AS2.0. A sedan and an SUV, both drawn by Pininfarina. During our visit, the last examples of these models are rolling off the assembly line, as the brand plans to focus entirely on EVs. For the VinFast electric models, Pininfarina was once again brought in to provide the design. The result is the VinFast models VF 5, VF 6, VF 7, VF 8, VF 9. Fully electric buses and scooters, by the way, they also build. VinFast is toying with the thoughts of bringing these to Europe in the future as well.

4. What is the Vingroup?

VinFast is part of the Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest private companies. The Vingroup was founded thirty years ago by the now 53-year-old Phạm Nhật Vượng. With an estimated 7.5 billion euros in assets, he is the country’s first billionaire. His career, oddly enough, began not in his home country, but in Ukraine. A communist country at the time, just as Vietnam is still officially one today. In addition to running a noodle restaurant, he produced and sold instant noodles in Ukraine in the 1990s. The noodle business was doing so well that in 2009 he managed to sell the whole joint to Nestlé for $150 million.

Multiple sectors

In the meantime, he built the Vingroup in his home country. It quickly grew into a large conglomerate, which now operates in Vietnam’s construction and real estate sectors and has major interests in the education, health, agriculture and tourism sectors. It sometimes seems like half the country is owned by the Vingroup. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam’s largest city – entire neighborhoods are filled with brand new skyscrapers – Vinhomes – all owned by the Vingroup. If you vacation anywhere else in Vietnam, chances are you’ll end up at one of the fabulous Vin resorts. Do you injure your ankle on vacation? Then you get in a cab – often a Vinfast model – and go to a VinHospital. Are you bored on vacation? Then head to one of the Vingroup’s giant amusement parks: VinWonders.

The company even owns one of the tallest buildings in Asia (17th tallest worldwide), the 461.2-meter-high Landmark 81. They also have their own university. In Hanoi, you can go to the – what else could it be called – VinUniversity. That’s not some Mickey Mouse university. It exchanges students with Cornell University, the elite university from the United States.

5. Should I take a new car brand from Vietnam seriously?

No small player, then, the Vingroup. So VinFast – the car branch of Vingroup – should not be thought of as a small startup, always running out of money and having to survive every month. There is a lot of money and VinFast is tackling everything big. Just outside Hanoi, within 21 months the brand has built a factory of a size that is almost the envy of the flower auction in Aalsmeer.

The plant is completely automated. During our tour of the factory, Vietnamese people proudly point out robotic arms that the factory is full of. It says ABB in big red letters on the robots. Swiss top quality. The price of one such robotic arm we dare not even write down here. The Vietnamese take quality seriously, that much is clear.

6. Do they produce their own battery packs?

We also get to see the battery plant. Here the Vietnamese screw together their battery packs themselves. Well, again, robots mostly do the work. The battery cells come from well-known manufacturers, such as Samsung and CATL. Starting in 2024, VinFast plans to put solid-state batteries in their cars. The brand recently announced it was investing tens of millions in ProLogium, a well-known producer of next-generation solid-state batteries. The first ProLogium plant will open its doors in 2023.

7. What about the VF 8?

The VF 8 and VF 9 are the first two models to come to the Netherlands, sometime in December 2022. The VF 8 is the smallest of the duo, but with a length of 4.75 meters you cannot call it a small SUV. There are two versions: the Eco and Plus. You can choose from two battery packs: 82 or 87.7 kWh. The Eco variant achieves 420 kilometers on a single charge with the small battery pack and 471 kilometers with the large pack. With the Plus variant, that is 400 or 447 kilometers. You can read our test with the VF 8 on this site soon.

8. Will the VinFast VF 9 also come to the Netherlands?

Yes, the VinFast VF 9 is the second model to come to the Netherlands. This hefty seven-seater is also available with two battery packs: 92 kWh and 123 kWh. The large battery pack provides more range, of course, but not more power. Both versions have 408 hp and 620 Nm thanks to two electric motors. This model is of extra interest to large families, because electric cars with three rows of seats are almost non-existent. Only the Mercedes-Benz EQB and Tesla Model X can currently be had with seven seats.

9. What is the cost of a VinFast VF 8 and VF 9?

For the VF 8, VinFast charges a minimum of 44,350 euros and for a VF 9 you pay a minimum of 59,200 euros. The prices just mentioned do not yet include the battery. It will only be possible to buy a car including a battery from 2024. Until then you have to take out a battery subscription. There are two subscription types: Fixed and Flexible. The Fixed Package has no kilometer limit and costs 120 euros per month for the VF 8 and 150 euros for the VF 9. If you drive less than 500 kilometers per month, you should go for the Flexible subscription. The prices of these will be announced by the Vietnamese soon.

10. What about the warranty?

VinFast provides a 10-year warranty on a VF 8 or VF 9, or up to 200,000 kilometers. The subscription further includes all maintenance and repair costs. The possible replacement of the battery pack, if the residual capacity should fall below 70%, is also a free part of the subscription. According to the brand, this way you don’t have to worry about the battery pack and the purchase price remains manageable for the customer. The brand expects that after 2024, 50% of buyers will choose a Vinfast EV with a battery subscription, the other half will buy the car including battery pack.