Both vehicles were designed by Pininfarina.
VinFast is a Vietnamese automaker that made its debut at the Paris Motor Show this year with two new models and plans to add more. VinFast is a new automaker that partners with established suppliers and attracts industry veterans.
The and LUX A2.0 sedans will be presented in Paris. They were made possible by a public vote of the Vietnamese people. The company requested sketches from Italdesign Giugiaro and Pininfarina. Torino Design and Zagato then asked citizens to vote for their favourite.
The company took the top-selling sedan and SUV designs – both from Italdesign Giugiaro to Pininfarina for refinements. They were then turned into the models we see here in Paris. The sedan is inspired by the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s long hood and narrow rear deck, while the SUV has design cues that would look right at home on a new Mazda.
Each vehicle has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine. It produces either 174 horsepower (130kilowatts), 221 poundfeet (3000 Newton-meters) or 227 HP (170 kW), 258 lbft (355 Nm) of torque. The SUV will have the more powerful engine, while the sedan can choose from one of the power outputs. The ZF eight-speed automatic transmission routes power from the engine to both the sedan’s rear wheels and the SUV’s rear wheels. A Borg Warner transfer case allows for all-wheel drive, but it is not possible to have an SUV with all-wheel drive.
With the 174-hp engine, the sedan can reach speeds of 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.9 seconds. With the 227-hp motor, that time is lowered to 7.1 seconds. In its rear-wheel drive configuration, the SUV can reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.9 seconds. The all-wheel-drive version takes 0.22 seconds to reach 62mph (100 km/h).
It all seems great on paper. VinFast is different from other companies trying to enter the automotive market. The company formed a partnership with General Motors earlier this year. GM had agreed to hand over its Vietnamese operations to VinFast. VinFast will distribute Chevy cars in Vietnam for the automaker. According to Reuters, the transfer included GM’s Hanoi plant and dealer network as well as its employee base. This makes GM VinFast the preferred provider of automotive technology, which opens up opportunities for future technology and product sharing.
This partnership will result in a new VinFast Model – a GM city car. VinFast holds the rights to a new, global small car. It will be produced and sold in Vietnam under the VinFast name. Production will begin next year at the Hanoi factory. Italdesign Giugiaro will design the vehicle and Germany’s EDAG will complete engineering development. The Vietnamese will unveil a brand new electric car next year. Sales are expected to begin in 2020. Two agreements have been signed by the company with Siemens to produce a fully-electric bus. This partnership covers electric motor manufacturing licenses as well as the supply of components for the production of the eBus in Vietnam. The eBus will be ready for production by the end 2019.
These plans are being implemented under the direction of Le Thi Thu Thuy Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup. James DeLuca worked for GM for 37-years. Vice President of Sales and CEO of VinFast Trading and Production is Ms. Le Thanh Hai. She was previously the General Sales and Marketing Director of General Motors Vietnam. VinFast’s Director for Design is David Lyon. He was the Executive Director of Asia-Pacific Design, and has over 28 years of experience in automotive design. Shaun Calvert (GM’s former Director for Manufacturing Systems and Support in Germany), is VinFast’s Vice President of Manufacturing.
Next year should see the start of production for VinFast LUX A2.0 & LUX SA2.0.