Vietnam's carmaker VinFast eyes more countries for its European strategy

Pininfarina SpA

23/09/2021 14:37

TURIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Vietnamese carmaker VinFast could
add other markets in 2023 to expand its European strategy beyond
a planned debut in Germany, France and the Netherlands next
year.
    The company, a unit of Vingroup JSC  VIC.HM  Vietnam's
largest conglomerate which some have called "Vietnam's answer to
Tesla"  TSLA.O , will debut in Europe next year with two battery
electric SUVs models, the midsized VF e35 and the seven-seater
VF e36, both designed by Italy's Pininfarina  PNNI.MI .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ML6X6
    The two models launch in Vietnam, North America and Europe
around mid-2022, after an unveiling planned later this year.
    VinFast became Vietnam's first fully fledged domestic car
manufacturer when its first gasoline-powered models built under
its own badge hit the streets in 2019.
    VinFast's B2B Sales Vice President Emiel Hendriksen said on
Thursday it was also looking at Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland
and Austria for a second step in its European strategy.
    "We're considering those countries for 2023," he said during
a presentation at Pininfarina headquarters in Turin.
    VinFast will initially rely on a direct distribution model
in Germany, France and the Netherlands, based on property
showrooms, but could later consider an agency-model for sales in
other countries, Hendriksen said.
    The company sold about 30,000 vehicles domestically last
year and had set a target of selling 15,000 electric vehicles in
2022, although its representatives did not provide detailed
forecasts for the European market on Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OO0B8
    Earlier this year sources said parent Vingroup JSC was
considering an U.S. initial public offering (IPO) of its car
unit that could value VinFast at about $60 billion, though an
initial second-quarter deadline for the deal mentioned by one of
the sources was delayed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M52YP
    VinFast Europe CEO Bich Tran said any IPO decision was up to
the company's headquarters in Vietnam.
    "Our European plans are independent from any IPO. We're
carrying on with our plans, everything in Europe is moving as
planned," she said.  
   

 (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by David Evans)
 ((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))