VinFast has unveiled an electric car in the $20,000 range in Vietnam, a motorbike-reliant Southeast Asian country that may see Chinese alternatives with four-figure price tags soon. Photo by Vingroup.
The electric-vehicle arm of Vingroup said late on Friday that it is “targeting the broadest range of consumers” with the VF 5 Plus SUV, which goes for about one-third the price of the company’s higher-end EVs.
VinFast this year became the first Vietnamese automaker to sell cars in the U.S., where it already has cut prices after similar moves by Tesla prompted speculation of a price war. The company also said recently that the state of California had approved its VF 8 electric SUV for a rebate program that saves buyers as much as $7,500.
Meanwhile cheaper EVs from China are popping up in Vietnam, where per capita income is $4,100. These include the Hongguang Mini EV, which carmaker Wuling dubs a $4,500 “alternative to walking” and which Vietnamese state broadcaster VOV has said is set to enter the market and “speed its transition from motorbikes to cars.”
Vietnam has one of the world’s biggest motorbike markets, with estimates putting the number of bikes on the road at more than 60 million in a country of 99 million people. Without a clean transition, which can include electric bikes and public transit, critics fear an onslaught of four-wheelers will deliver more pollution along with traffic.
“The VF 5 Plus will provide customers with additional choices that suit the needs of the majority, thereby encouraging consumers to switch to electric vehicles and contributing to a sustainable future for all,” VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said.
VinFast delivered 7,400 electric cars in 2022 and has an annual production capacity of 250,000. It aims to start building EVs in North Carolina in 2025 and introduced electric taxis in its home market this month.
Source: Nikkei Asia
