Vietnam’s VinFast reveals cheap new EV

The ambitious Vietnamese start-up VinFast has confirmed pricing, some specifications and an innovative battery rental plan for its first Aussie co-developed production electric vehicle.

The VF e34 compact SUV, which was previewed as the VF31 in January, is now available for order in Vietnam at a price equivalent to $39,000 (690 million VND).

And if you get in quick before June 30, you can snaffle one for $33,500 (590 million VND). That’s about $10,000 cheaper than the cheapest EV currently sold in Australia, the MG ZS EV.

What you get in the VF e34 for your money is a pretty orthodox 4.3m long wagon with a 110kW/242Nm e-motor that powers the front wheels. The 42kWh battery pack offers a claimed range around 300km.

While VinFast doesn’t yet sell cars in Australia, the brand has made a significant investments here.

It has set up a product development centre in Port Melbourne and bought the old Holden proving ground at Lang Lang in Victoria. It has also hired hundreds of local automotive engineers, most of them ex-Holden.

As a result, the has been a strong Australia influence of the development of VinFast’s rapidly expanding product portfolio. Including the e34 and the VF32 and VF33 which were also previewed in January.

The VF e34 is also being offered with an innovative battery rental plan. In return for a monthly $82 fee and not travelling more than 1400km per month, VinFast will replace the lithium-ion battery pack in the VF e34 if its recharge capacity drops below 70 per cent.

VinFast says the fee is the equivalent to the cost of petrol for a month. The 1400km distance is the average travel of the average car user in Vietnam. VinFast is also offering a 10-year warranty for the VF e34.

The e34 also comes with remote software update, vehicle issue diagnosis and warning, remote customer support, itinerary planning and a charging station location guide. By the end of 2021, VinFast estimate it will have built 40,000 EV charging ports across the country.

VinFast says the e34 comes with a solid line-up of safety features, but also revealed in January the VF31 achieved only a four-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating.