Fast and furious: VinFast rolls out first made-in-Vietnam car

The company has started trial runs of the Lux SA 2.0 SUV in its factory compound in northern port city of Haiphong.

The automaker introduced the first two car models at the Paris Motor Shows last October and a limited edition of the SUV with V8 engine at the Geneva Motor Show this week. These cars are produced by VinFast partners and the one it introduced yesterday is the first one made by Haiphong facility.

The Lux SA 2.0 SUV, which is built on frame from BWM, will be powered by the 228hp engine.

VinFast cars will first be tested in Australia, Austria, South Korea in line with European standards and Vietnamese climate and conditions.

“With the production of the first Lux SA 2.0 SUV, VinFast wants to confirm that all parts of the production process in our factory are ready for trial operation prior to mass production”, said VinFast president Le Thi Thu Thuy.

The Lux SA 2.0 SUV is priced at VND1.136 billion for pre-orders last year but the price was then increased to VND1.286 billion. Vingroup said its full price should be VND1.818 billion.

The company has not announced when it will launch the first sedan produced by its factory in Haiphong.

However, it has announced that commercial versions of both the SUV and a sedan will be delivered in the second and third quarter this year.

Vingroup embarked on car making over a year ago with the ambition to invest $3.5 billion to produce automobiles and electric scooters.