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VinFast: Vietnamese automaker to debut first models in Paris

Sales will kick off in September next year, after the cars make their debut in the city of love.


VinFast, a new car maker from Vietnam, is hoping to come out in style at the Paris motor show in October.

The brand's first crossover and sedan have been designed by Pininfarina, and were actually teased by the design house back in February.

VinFast reportedly unveiled 20 concept designs back in October 2017, and asked the public to choose their favourite. After around 62,000 people voted, the most popular sedan and crossover designs were then handed over to Pininfarina for development.

The company plans to launch its first production vehicle in September 2019, and hopes to be producing around 500,000 cars per year by 2025.

According to Forbes, VinFast was established in September 2017 by Pham Nhat Vuong, one of Vietnam's richest men.

His Vingroup conglomerate plans on pouring at least US$1.5 billion ($2 billion) into its new manufacturing enterprise, and has already broken ground on its new factory at a 3.4 square kilometre site in the port city of Hai Phong.

The company hopes to put the country on four wheels, with car ownership in the nominally communist country lagging behind much of the developed world at 23 cars per 1000 people. In nearby Thailand this number is 204, while in developed nations the ratio is closer to 400.

“The direct involvement of Pininfarina ... is expected to bring modern beauty while retaining Vietnamese identity to the first two VinFast car models,” Quang Viet Nguyen, a vice president of Vingroup, said in a statement.

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