VinFast is an intriguing brand, born out of might and innovation, it has become a curiosity in the automotive industry. It first made headlines as early as its conception in 2017, when it boldly announced that it would be selling its self-built EVs in one of the toughest markets in the world, the USA.
While the brand has since then enjoyed some notoriety (for various reasons), they are still around and continues to seek a place “at the table”. Philippine-wise, VinFast already exists, but isn’t in the consciousness of the market as much as they would like. To address this, the brand has reintroduced itself with a new local team and a trip to their “digs” in Vietnam.
Xin Chao VinFast!
Due to VinFast’s maverick attitude towards mobility, news about them has been endless, and to me, they have always been somewhat of an outlier in our current EV world. It seemed like out of nowhere, a motoring brand from Southeast Asia pops up sometime in 2017 to offer vehicles GLOBALLY on a mass scale.
Apparently, though, there is more to it than that. VinFast is just a small part of what is known as the VinGroup of companies. Under this massive conglomerate, the VinGroup operates businesses like hotels, malls, schools, universities, and even hospitals. Arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam, made me aware of just how massive VinFast’s impact is on their home country; they seem to be almost everywhere.
Our first stop on our VinGroup tour was the University, located in an area built mostly by VinFast. This area was a small township community located a few minutes from the city center. In it, you’ll find new condominiums, some smaller schools, and it even features what looked like a manmade beach with actual sand. However, the crown jewel of this place, at the end of the development, is the VinUniversity.
You can’t miss the building, it’s designed in a somewhat classic French estate design, think of a tamer Palace of Versailles, but it is still a very grand property meant to impress and somewhat impose. We were given a tour of the university’s highlights, which include a partnership with prestigious universities like Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. Under this, VinUniversity has access to the top curriculum, professors, and instructors.
The school (so far) is renowned mainly for healthcare courses, some business courses, and even art. We were even able to meet a Filipina student who was there on a full scholarship. VinUniversity is considered a non-profit; the school uses all proceeds to reinvest back into its programs. Now you may think that touring us around a university was a waste of time, but I was genuinely impressed. How many brands out there have a university located in a mini-city they built themselves? They are eager to highlight that the VinGroup has a full ecosystem, something they also want to integrate in their strategy for VinFast PH, time will tell how they plan to do it.
During this trip, we were also shown their own medical facility, VinMec. VinMec for me was as impressive as the university because of their commitment to actually furthering their own healthcare capabilites, they explained to us that they want VinMec to be a destination for those who are looking for top-quality treatment within the region as to avoid the current trend of high-cost treatments mostly found further west in Europe or America.
To the matter at hand…
Of course our trip wasn’t all about school and hospitals, we are after all an automotive contingent. Our main tour was the VinFast HQ and main factory located in Hai Phong, an industrial park located 2 hours from Hanoi.
The factory itself boasts some pretty incredible manufacturing capabilities, apart from obviously being able to build all their cars from the ground up, VinFast has also expanded to making their own EV motorcycles. We toured most of their facilities and I have to say, for a Southeast Asian operation their efforrts are more than admirable, even if compared to the more established brands VinFast might seem “small” in scale, I look at it as growing and growing very quickly. EV’s are generally quicker to produce than normal ICE vehicles and VinFast seems to be able to produce them at a rapid rate, with their factory grounds filled with finished models ready for sale.
After a tour of their facility, we were ushered to their “proving grounds” a small stretch of empty road near the end of their facotry to properly sample their cars. On display for us to try are the already familiar VF3, VF6, and VF9. While I’ve had previous experience with the VF5, and a short drive with the VF3, I was eager to reintroduce these products into my conciousness.
One of the first things I noticed was that the quality of the VinFast vehicles have dramatically improved, gone is the hollow feeling interior plastics, and the obvious panel gaps. While the VF3 remains a budget friendly option, I admire the effort they put in it make it feel more solid. The VF9 flagship SUV also feels up-to par now, with a decently appointed interior and feel is also more towards the premium side, a good effort indeed. My favorite amongst the bunch though would be the VF6, I felt that this is the key product in their lineup, a crossover with the right ride height, and an interior that is a good mix of affordable and premium materials, I like how smart they were in allocating the higherend materials which can be found on certain touch points like the steering wheel.
To drive, each vehicle also seems to have their own distinct charateristics. The VF3 is really supposed to be a pure city EV, small range battery and a very basic drive feel is what you get, in fact the top speed based on my test is just 104 km/h, which is enough but enough for city driving. Its handling is also more towards the wallowy side given the boxy stature, but all this can really be forgiven because of the affordable price tag, and those endearing looks.
When it comes to proper drive feel I’d have to give credit to the VF6 and the VF9, both feel just as good as any EV in my book. Both vehicles have the right amount of “oomph”, decent comfort, and very liveable NVH. I also like how up to date the software is, all VinFasts we tested had Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, I appreciate that they didn’t try to make their own proprietary mirroring apps and went with the industry tech experts for the better customer experience.
We were also given some insight into the brands plans for the Philippine market, one such program stands out as a “buy back program” wherein the brand will guarantee a certain percentage value of the vehicle should you want to return it. Example: if you return it after 6 months the brand will give back 90% of the price back to you, and that number will of course vary depending how long you keep the vehicle. This idea is a novel one, nothing like it seems to exist yet locally, and I’m keen to see if they can pull it off, it adresses a lot of pain points like the low resale value of EVs and the hassle of selling a used vehicle.
Size Does Matter
Putting aside all the opinions about VinFast, I have to say that as a brand they are quite impressive. It’s easy to for brands nowadays to be mocked, ridiculed and crucified because we seem to now live in a 0-tolerance for failiure world. I understand that when it comes to mobility there really should be no shortcuts, and quality must at all times be up to standard because of the cost and safety concerns.
I am one of those who believe that quality for the consumer should never ever be compromised, no shortcuts and no excuses, and it seems VinFast has finally gotten the idea. It’s certain withtout a doubt that their products have improved, rightfully so considering how big their company actually is. They should use their size and might as a means to prove their worth in the cutthroat world of Automotive manufacturing and selling.
Are they the best? no far from it, but they are working towards it. Think about how far the brand has come since 2017, in that amount of time they’ve solidified a position globally as an EV car company that provides affordable EV options that are continiuously evolving and improving, and with the EV industry trend now leaning towards affordability, we might soon be seeing more success from VinFast.
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