$17,000 Hatchback From Vietnam Rolls Out to Take on Ford and Toyota

[Viet]

Workers conduct checks on a Vinfast Sedan at the VinFast plant on June 14. Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg

Vietnam is getting into the car business with its own brand.

Bloomberg
By
Nguyen Kieu Giang
and
John Boudreau
14 June 2019, 09:01 CEST


Real-estate conglomerate Vingroup JSC’s auto unit VinFast marked the rollout of its first vehicles from its assembly line on Friday, embodying the aspirations of the fast-developing country’s government to build a modern manufacturing sector.

VinFast Fadil on the assembly line at the VinFast plant.

Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg
“This makes a great contribution to the national economy,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a speech during a ceremony at VinFast’s complex of six automated factories constructed in 21 months in the northern port city of Haiphong. “It affirms the Communist Party’s policy that the private sector is a very important driver of the economy. I want VinFast to go to the regional and global markets.”

VinFast, which will start delivering cars to customers Monday, wants to be the first Vietnamese company to succeed at challenging foreign competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Xuan Kien Automobile, known as Vinaxuki, failed to win over brand-conscious Vietnamese with its local car models before folding in 2015.


Hatchback Named Fadil

VinFast Fadil hatchback at the VinFast factory.

Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg


The first VinFast rollout, a hatchback named Fadil, is initially priced at 394.5 million dong ($16,900). Vingroup said in 2017 it planned to invest up to $3.5 billion in its auto business. The company will also produce a sedan, sport utility vehicle and electric motorbikes.

The new automaker, though, faces challenges in Vietnam’s aspirational culture.

“Product quality is a concern” among consumers, said Truc Pham, a senior analyst at ACB Securities JSC in Ho Chi Minh City. “Vietnamese people favor foreign brands for high-value products. It will take years for customers to accept a new local brand.”

VinFast plans to make 250,000 vehicles during a first stage of operations, with projected production increasing to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2025. Last year, the company said it expects to begin exports in mid-2020.

The company said it received 10,000 vehicle pre-orders a year ago. Vietnamese purchased 119,497 new vehicles in the first five months of the year, an 18% jump from the year-earlier period, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Employees work on a VinFast car on the assembly line.
Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg

The vehicles aren’t completely made in Vietnam. The Fadil uses the chassis of the Karl Rocks model by PSA Group’s Opel. The sedan and SUV are built on frames from BMW AG, designed by Italian design house Pininfarina and have components engineered by Magna Steyr. Jim Deluca, the former vice president of global manufacturing for General Motors Co., was hired as VinFast’s chief executive officer.

Vingroup embraced the government’s aspirations to see domestic manufacturers make high-value products for the nation’s growing middle class in an economy that has expanded at an average clip of 6.6% since 2000 -- boosting annual incomes to almost $2,600 from about $400.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...from-vietnam-rolls-out-to-take-on-ford-toyota

 

[Nike]

This expensive stuff from no name and almost zero experiences on handle after sales services

 

[Viet]

This expensive stuff from no name and almost zero experiences on handle after sales services

Come on sis, how’s about congrats Vietnam?
Which country in the world in the same GDP category has ever achieved such feat?

 

[Salahuddin Ayyubi]

Everytime I look at Vietnam. I can't but appreciate how far they have come since the Vietnam war. A country that was destroyed by American forces, but the dedication and commitment of the regime and it's people helped it build Vietnam into what it is.

 

[Nike]

Come on sis, how’s about congrats Vietnam?
Which country in the world in the same GDP category has ever achieved such feat?

Malaysia with their Proton, Czech with their Tatra and Skoda brand. Indonesian even made Ayla and Agya small hatchback with around 10.000 US dollar price tag

 

[Kai Liu]

Come on sis, how’s about congrats Vietnam?
Which country in the world in the same GDP category has ever achieved such feat?

Achieve what feat? By producing a rebadged triply overpriced junk? or by assembling some decade old outdated shit?
Do you know what people elsewhere can get for 17,000 USD??? This company is rip you off even more than the Japanese or Koreans... lol...

Malaysia with their Proton, Czech with their Tatra and Skoda brand. Indonesian even made Ayla and Agya small hatchback with around 10.000 US dollar price tag

This bumpkin is really dumb... Indonesia even made a passenger plane decades ago, and no one see any Indonesian member boasting about it here...

 

[INDIAISM]

This expensive stuff from no name and almost zero experiences on handle after sales services

Every company starts from the Zero..Doesn't matter wether it Ford, Toyota, Apple, Alphabet, Hyundai or Samsung... Its a good beginning now its upto the sales and service team wether the company will grow or Perish

 

[Zhukov]

17,000 Dollar for a hatchback?
Even in country like Pakistan where cars are stupidly expensive beyond measure, You can get a Crossover SUV Honda BRV or a Mid ranged Sedan like Toyota Corolla in less then this.

 

[nufix]

Malaysia with their Proton, Czech with their Tatra and Skoda brand. Indonesian even made Ayla and Agya small hatchback with around 10.000 US dollar price tag

Viet is a waitress at Viet resto in Germany, what could he know about other countries‘ automotive industry? That is beyond him.

Anyway, we should really push Astra International to go beyond manufacturing cars and motorcycles, they should really try to compete with PTDI in building small planes to provide pressure in the aerospace sector.

 

[Viet]

Malaysia with their Proton, Czech with their Tatra and Skoda brand. Indonesian even made Ayla and Agya small hatchback with around 10.000 US dollar price tag

Proton belongs to a chinese carmaker. Skoda belongs to a german. Are both A’s Indonesians?

Every company starts from the Zero..Doesn't matter wether it Ford, Toyota, Apple, Alphabet, Hyundai or Samsung... Its a good beginning now its upto the sales and service team wether the company will grow or Perish

Without a domestic car industry, there are little rooms to move up value chains, to become a developed country. That’s a fact.

Making smartphones is 100 times easier than making cars.

There are just a handful of countries that make own cars.

Viet is a waitress at Viet resto in Germany, what could he know about other countries‘ automotive industry? That is beyond him.

Anyway, we should really push Astra International to go beyond manufacturing cars and motorcycles, they should really try to compete with PTDI in building small planes to provide pressure in the aerospace sector.

Unless you show Indonesia can make cars, your trollings become boring.

 

[Kai Liu]

VinFast plans to make 250,000 vehicles during a first stage of operations, with projected production increasing to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2025. Last year, the company said it expects to begin exports in mid-2020.

Bullshit claim...You have to drive out Hyundai, Toyota, etc, and to capture >100% of your domestic market... Do you think it's possible??? Because no one is gonna buy this overpriced shit outside vn...

 

[nufix]

Proton belongs to a chinese carmaker. Skoda belongs to a german. Are both A’s Indonesians?


Without a domestic car industry, there are little rooms to move up value chains, to become a developed country. That’s a fact.

Making smartphones is 100 times easier than making cars.

There are just a handful of countries that make own cars.


Unless you show Indonesia can make cars, your trollings become boring.

The one thats boring is you Nguyen.

 

[lcloo]

Looks like economic sense is put aside in favour of nationalist sentiment by the car maker. The strong nationalist sentiment of the Viets may prevail initially but as the heat cools down it is still the price of the car that matters.

I wonder what is the average salaries a Viet earns, and to pay $17,000 what is the equivalent to the months that they have to work?

 

[Kai Liu]

Proton belongs to a chinese carmaker. Skoda belongs to a german. Are both A’s Indonesians?

It doesn't matter which country they belong today, They made their own cars long before you...
And this shit is just a rebadged crap from GM, and the other two is assembled from BMW decade old junk nothing special about....

Looks like economic sense is put aside in favour of nationalist sentiment by the car maker. The strong nationalist sentiment of the Viets may prevail initially but as the heat cools down it is still the price of the car that matters.

I wonder how many months of average salaries a Viet earns, and to pay $17,000 what is the equivalent to the months that they have to work?

Judging from the comments I have read using google translation about this car, nationalist sentiment is not going to work... Even most vn people think this is hugely overpriced... After all, no one is gonna spend 10 year of their salary to buy this little midget hatchback sold 1/3 the price elsewhere... With such domestic enterprise which want to rip off its own people even more than the foreign ones, cars for 99% of vietnmese are still a distant distant dream....

 

[Viet]

Bullshit claim...You have to drive out Hyundai, Toyota, etc, and to capture >100% of your domestic market... Do you think it's possible??? Because no one is gonna buy this overpriced shit outside vn...

We want to sell lots of them to China.

There are 1.4 billion chinese. Should not be difficult to sell 10 million cars in ten years.

What do you think?