Vietnam is getting into the car business for itself, and ahead of the launches of a sedan and an SUV at the Paris auto show in October, the automaker VinFast has revealed the first photos of the Italian carrozzeria-styled models. Looking far from a first effort, the sedan and SUV evidence good proportions and evolved styling — these could easily be cars from an automaker that has been in business for decades.
There is a big chunk of truth to that statement, even though these are indeed VinFast’s first models: The bodies and engineering underneath are actually a previous-generation BMW 5-Series sedan and X5 SUV. VinFast contracted Italdesign and Pininfarina to come up with new skin for these two models, which will likely be paired with turbocharged 2.0-liter BMW engines (without Valvetronic variable valve timing) coupled with ZF eight-speed automatic transmissions. The engines will reportedly be available in two states of tune, according to Autocar, offering 175 hp and 227 hp. In addition to the two BMW platforms, VinFast also plans to produce the previous-gen Vauxhall Viva.
“With Vietnamese spirit, Italian design and German technology, the two models have been developed to international standards after the Vietnamese people voted on their favorite design from a range of options presented in October 2017,” the automaker said in a statement. “VinFast’s participation at the 2018 Paris motor show will significantly raise the profile of the brand and these two models ahead of the start of sales in Vietnam in September 2019.”
The SUV will be based on the previous-gen BMW X5.
Needless to say, this is a novel way to start an automaker from scratch, and the starting points promise impressive engineering for a novice factory. As a result, development time had been cut down to a breezy 11 months — one can only wonder how long it would have taken to engineer and design these two models from scratch — especially benchmarked to recent BMW models.
In addition to licensing BMW engineering, VinFast has recruited senior executives with decades of experience to lead the automaker, picking up former GM execs and a former GM plant in Hanoi that had produced GM-Daewoo vehicles in the past. VinFast is also building a new factory in Hai Phong, in northern Vietnam, making it one of the country’s largest industrial undertakings ever.
VinFast relied on Italian styling houses to come up with new designs for its two first models.
“We have the resources, scalability and commitment to become a significant new player in the global automotive industry,” said James DeLuca, CEO of VinFast Trading and Production LLC. “We are immensely proud to be the first volume automotive manufacturer in Vietnam and the first to participate in a major international motor show. We look forward to introducing our new brand and two new models in Paris. Our show stand will also prominently feature the best of Vietnam, demonstrating the passion and tenacity that we will bring to the global automotive stage.”
The two models that will be shown in Paris will kick off the lineup, and more are in development for the domestic market and for export markets.
VinFast wants to get into foreign markets pretty quickly; Chinese automakers tend to cast a large shadow over the southeast Asian car market, but the rapid growth outside of China has not gone unnoticed. Southeast Asia represents one of the largest emerging car markets in the world, with a number of automakers vying for shares of the market. Toyota is currently the region’s top automaker, with collective sales from all present automakers in the six major countries of the region amounting to 3.36 million cars in 2017. Needless to say, there is still plenty of room for growth.