Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast is opening pre-orders in France for its VF 8 (€ 43,350 without battery rental) and VF 9 (€ 59,150) electric SUVs. The first will come to hunt on the land of the Tesla Model Y while the second, more than 5 m long, will have seven places.
A little more than three years after making its first public appearance at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, the young Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast is making its commercial debut in France. The Hexagon is one of the three European countries chosen by the firm to launch on the Old Continent, with Germany and the Netherlands. The brand, a subsidiary of the sprawling conglomerate Vingroup, intends to offer exclusively electric vehicles with us (it will cease the thermal in Asia at the end of 2022). It entered our market with the SUVs named VF 8 and VF 9 (previously VE e35 and VF e36), designed with the Pininfarina design studio. The pre-reservations have just opened and are accessible until April 5, 2022.
The VF 8 takes on an already competitive segment
With approximately 4.75 m long, 1.90 m wide and 1.66 m high, the Vinfast VF 8 is positioned as a competitor of the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5, see BMW iX3. It is displayed at 43,350 € in its strong Eco version of 354 hp, capable of going from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.9 s thanks to its two engines (one per axle) providing together 500 Nm of torque. A 408 hp Plus model, taking advantage of 640 Nm and putting 5.5 s on the exercise, is also planned. Vinfast announces a maximum WLTP range of 504 km for the VF 8 with an 86 kWh battery. For detailed technical sheets, we will have to wait a little longer.
On the equipment side, if the standard equipment remains to be known, the manufacturer announces an optional Highlighted Plus configuration including various semi-autonomous driving systems (adaptive regulator, traffic jam assistant, lane change assistance, etc.) including a “Summon” mode allowing to call his car via a remote control, like at Tesla.
Vinfast VF 9, a family electric SUV
The Vinfast VF 9, approximately 5.12 m long, 2 m wide and 1.72 m high, can accommodate seven people on board. It uses the 408 hp and 640 Nm engine duo of the VF 8 Plus, with an advertised chrono of 6.5 s to reach 100 km / h, but its WLTP range is increased to 550 km thanks to a 95 kWh battery according to the constructor. As on board the VF 8, the instrumentation is very refined and is based mainly on the large touch screen enthroned in the center of the dashboard. The same Hilighted Plus endowment as for the VF 8 will be offered. The base price for VF 9 has been set at € 59,150 in France.
Battery in addition
The prices indicated above do not include the battery, which will be subject to a subscription although this type of contract is losing momentum if we can trust the abandonment of this proposal at Renault. Vinfast has not yet communicated the total prices of its vehicles, but we can count on a basic offer of less than € 60,000 for the VF 8 so that it can benefit from an ecological bonus. To pre-order a Vinfast vehicle, a refundable deposit of € 150 is required. It allows you to receive a digital voucher of € 2,500 for a VF 8 or € 4,200 for a VF 9, but also a confirmation in NFT (digital ownership certificate on a blockchain, or register shared online, securing its authenticity) which will be transferable from April 6, 2022.
Vinfast will soon open its first French point of sale in Paris, in the 8e arrondissement, near Place de la Madeleine. The expansion of the manufacturer is therefore concretely in place despite the departure of the former boss of Opel, Michael Lohscheller, last December after five short months at the head of the Vietnamese firm. He was replaced by Le Thi Thu Thuy, who also remains vice-president of Vingroup.