1 day Ago By [email protected] (Stephen Fogel)
VinFast is the automaking subsidiary of billion-dollar Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, a huge corporate entity in Vietnam. The company is run by Pham Nhat Vuong, who initially made his fortune in instant noodles, then followed that up with another fortune in real estate. The Vingroup empire spans theme parks, resorts, food and clothing stores, cell phones, apartments, hospitals, schools and universities.
It also has divisions specializing in AI and Big Data, which will contribute to VinFast's intelligent driving systems. VinFast began making cars in 2017, with sales commencing in 2019. At that time, the rate of car ownership in Vietnam was very low at only 23 cars per 1,000 people.
The company started out by contracting Italian design house Pininfarina to rebody existing vehicles, such as the BMW 5-Series and X5, as well as the subcompact Chevrolet Spark. Thanks in part to import duties on vehicles from outside Vietnam, VinFast's first vehicles were local best-sellers. In early 2022, VinFast decided on a major change of course.
They would stop producing vehicles with internal-combustion engines (ICE) and would instead become a full-line electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. VinFast chose to become vertically integrated, making the vast majority of parts themselves. In addition to cars and SUVs, VinFast also produces e-scooters, e-buses, battery systems, and vehicle charging stations for Vietnam.
However, VinFast's path to becoming a purveyor of competitive EVs has been a bit .
