Japan and South Korea cracked the American car market. Now a company from Vietnam wants to try
A subsidiary of Vietnam's enormous VinGroup conglomerate -- which owns companies in technology, healthcare, amusement parks and even a university -- Vinfast unveiled its first models, a pair of gasoline-powered luxury sedans, at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Both sedans used engineering from German luxury automaker BMW, including its engines. The company now also offers gas-powered SUVs in Vietnam with BMW engines, including a high performance model called the President.
But the company has much bigger ambitions.
"We want to become a global brand," said Vinfast Global CEO Michael Lohscheller, "and if you want to become a global brand, you have to come to the US."
The two electric crossovers unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday, the VF e35 and VF e36, were designed by Italy's Pininfarina, which has also designed other gasoline-powered cars for VinFast. Pininfarina is most famous for its history designing classic Ferraris. More recently, Vinfast has been shifting to electric vehicles, like the small VF e34 crossover being offered in Vietnam.
The Vinfast VF e35 has a driving range of up 310 miles on a charge, according to Vinfast. The e36 can go up to 422 miles on a charge. Both have a variety of semi-autonomous driver assist features similar to those available on other luxury SUVs such as self-parking and semi-automated driving.
In the United States, Vinfast will sell only electric vehicles, Lohscheller said, because that's where the company sees its largest opportunity for growth. The electric models are based on Vinfast's own engineering, said Lohscheller.
"The entire market is completely disrupted," he said, "so we're going immediately to EV only, and with that we think that the market potential is growing significantly."
Vinfast is also facing increased competition from companies like Rivian and Lucid, not to mention Tesla, for potential electric vehicle buyers. Those companies could also be opening a path for a new entrant like Vinfast, said Stephanie Brinley, an auto industry analyst with IHS Markit. Car shoppers, especially those looking at electric cars, are now more used to seeing unfamiliar names.
Lohscheller took over as Vinfast CEO at the end of July after having been CEO of Germany's Opel, now a subsidiary of Stellantis, for the past four years. Before that, he was a high-level executive at Volkswagen.
Vinfast has hired a number of executives, engineers and designers from around the world and that should help them understand consumers in markets like the United States and Europe, said Stephanie Brinley, an auto industry analyst with IHS Markit.
"They're bringing them in full time, not just as consultants," she said. "I think that's going to help them when they try to enter this market."
But Vinfast currently has no plans to enter China, another one of the largest automotive markets in the world. said Lohscheller.
Vinfast follows other Asian automakers that have entered the highly competitive US market. Hyundai and Kia, two related South Korean brands, entered the US market in 1986 and 1992, respectively, with cheap compact cars. Decades before, Japanese brands like Toyota, Honda and Subaru got their start in the US with a similar strategy.
While the vehicles Vinfast is bringing to the US don't seem like tiny budget models, the company is, to some extent, following the model of their Asian predecessors, said Brinley. Hyundai and Kia have found success with customers who recognize they can get, for instance, a nicely equipped three-row SUV with luxury-like appointments for a price similar to a smaller vehicle from a luxury brand.
"Our branding position here in the US is inclusive," said Nguyen Van Anh, CEO of VinFast US. "We want to provide a premium product at a reasonable price."
Vinfast has not yet said how much, exactly, its new SUVs will cost.
In addition to the two electric SUVs, VInfast also recently unveiled its US headquarters in Los Angeles. For now, the company plans to build these SUVs in Vietnam but there are plans for a US factory in the second half of 2024, said Lohscheller.
The company will initially begin selling its electric SUVs next year in California through 60 company-owned outlets rather than through independent dealers, said Nguyen, as most cars in the US are currently sold.
"We want to provide an outstanding customer service to our customers," she said. "So we want to control the customer journey from A to Z."
Bypassing independent franchised auto dealers, something electric car start-ups like Tesla and Rivian also do, has led to legal battles in a number of states where an automaker selling directly to consumers violates state laws. Vinfast plans to roll out Vinfast showrooms in other US states in the coming years, Nguyen said.
日本和韩国破解了美国汽车市场。现在一家越南公司想尝试
越南庞大的 VinGroup 集团的子公司——拥有技术、医疗保健、游乐园甚至一所大学的公司——Vinfast 在 2018 年巴黎车展上推出了其第一款车型，一对汽油动力豪华轿车。这两款轿车都采用了德国豪华汽车制造商宝马的工程技术，包括其发动机。该公司现在还在越南提供配备 BMW 发动机的汽油动力 SUV，包括一款名为 President 的高性能车型。
但该公司有更大的野心。
“我们想成为一个全球品牌，”Vinfast Global 首席执行官 Michael Lohscheller 说，“如果你想成为一个全球品牌，你必须来美国。”
周三在洛杉矶车展上亮相的两款电动跨界车 VF e35 和 VF e36 是由意大利的宾尼法利纳设计的，该公司还为 VinFast 设计了其他汽油动力汽车。 Pininfarina以其设计经典法拉利的历史而闻名。最近，Vinfast 一直在转向电动汽车，例如在越南推出的小型 VF e34 跨界车。
据 Vinfast 称，Vinfast VF e35 一次充电可行驶 310 英里。 e36 一次充电可行驶 422 英里。两者都具有多种半自动驾驶辅助功能，类似于其他豪华 SUV 上提供的功能，例如自动泊车和半自动驾驶。
Lohscheller 说，在美国，Vinfast 将只销售电动汽车，因为这是公司看到最大增长机会的地方。 Lohscheller 说，电动模型基于 Vinfast 自己的工程设计。
“整个市场完全被打乱了，”他说，“所以我们将立即转向电动汽车，因此我们认为市场潜力正在显着增长。”
Vinfast 还面临着来自 Rivian 和 Lucid 等公司（更不用说特斯拉）对潜在电动汽车买家的日益激烈的竞争。 IHS Markit 汽车行业分析师斯蒂芬妮·布林利 (Stephanie Brinley) 表示，这些公司也可能为 Vinfast 这样的新进入者开辟道路。购车者，尤其是那些看电动车的人，现在更习惯于看到陌生的名字。
Lohscheller 在过去四年担任德国欧宝（现为 Stellantis 的子公司）的首席执行官后，于 7 月底接任 Vinfast 首席执行官。在此之前，他是大众汽车的高级管理人员。
IHS Markit 汽车行业分析师斯蒂芬妮·布林利 (Stephanie Brinley) 表示，Vinfast 已从世界各地聘请了许多高管、工程师和设计师，这应该有助于他们了解美国和欧洲等市场的消费者。
“他们正在全职带他们，而不仅仅是作为顾问，”她说。 “我认为当他们试图进入这个市场时，这会对他们有所帮助。”
但 Vinfast 目前没有进入中国的计划，中国是世界上另一个最大的汽车市场。洛舍勒说。
Vinfast 跟随其他进入竞争激烈的美国市场的亚洲汽车制造商。两个相关的韩国品牌现代和起亚分别于 1986 年和 1992 年以廉价的紧凑型汽车进入美国市场。几十年前，丰田、本田和斯巴鲁等日本品牌以类似的策略在美国起步。
布林利说，虽然 Vinfast 为美国带来的车辆似乎不是小预算车型，但该公司在某种程度上遵循了亚洲前辈的车型。例如，现代和起亚在客户身上取得了成功，他们认识到他们可以以类似于豪华品牌小型车辆的价格获得配备豪华设施的三排 SUV。
“我们在美国的品牌定位是包容性的，”VinFast US 首席执行官 Nguyen Van Anh 说。 “我们希望以合理的价格提供优质的产品。”
Vinfast 尚未透露其新款 SUV 的确切价格。
除了两款电动SUV，VInfast最近还在洛杉矶揭开了其美国总部的面纱。 Lohscheller 表示，目前，该公司计划在越南生产这些 SUV，但计划在 2024 年下半年在美国建立工厂。
Nguyen 表示，该公司将于明年开始在加利福尼亚州通过 60 家公司自有网点销售其电动 SUV，而不是通过独立经销商，因为目前在美国销售的大多数汽车。
“我们希望为我们的客户提供出色的客户服务，”她说。 “所以我们想要控制从 A 到 Z 的客户旅程。”
绕过独立的特许汽车经销商，特斯拉和 Rivian 等电动汽车初创公司也这样做，这导致了一些州的法律纠纷，直接向消费者销售汽车的汽车制造商违反了州法律。 Nguyen 说，Vinfast 计划在未来几年在美国其他州推出 Vinfast 陈列室。
