VinFast, a unit of Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate - Vingroup JSC VIC.HM, demonstrated the seriousness of its intent to launch a Vietnamese auto brand by organizing a worshop in Germany to identify best partners for the project.
“The VinFast project is not only important to Vingroup but also to Vietnam. Thus, we are attempting to work with partners to successfully complete this project. We also acknowledge the indispensable role of suppliers in the project, and we believe that the core foundation for mutual advancement is our relationship and collaboration," said James DeLuca, Chief Director of VinFast Trading and Production LLC.
"Therefore, we hope that our relationship could be further strengthened. After the workshop, we hope that many suppliers become part of the VinFast family.”
Over 300 international suppliers expressed their interest in the Vietnamese car market in general and VinFast automobile project in particular. They also expressed high appreciation of the project’s production scale and historic mission.
VinFast representatives said the project would attract many potential clients thanks to its vision of large-scale production and international standards. Some automobile part suppliers hope to establish a long-term partnership with VinFast by building an automobile component factory in the project complex in Hai Phong, they said.
As a Vietnamese brand with a global vision, VinFast plans to produce 250,000 cars in the project’s first phase and double it to 500,000 cars in the next, becoming a leading car manufacturer in Southeast Asia. VinFast’s product range will include gasoline automobiles (sedan, SUV, hatchback), small-size electric cars and electric buses.
VinFast has established a parnership with many prestigious international corporations including BMW, Magna Steyr, AVL, EDAG, Pininfarina, ItalDesign, Bosch and Siemens to establish a board of experienced leaders coming from the world’s leading firms in automobile manufacturing.
Besides, VinFast is the leading firm in Vietnam in connecting with partners in other industries. For the project’s first phase, the company has allocated a 70-hectare area in Hai Phong for suppliers and offered optimal support to partners in infrastructure and management.
Vietnam is one of the most potential car markets in the world. Car ownership in Vietnam is low at 23 vehicles per 1,000 people, while in Thailand, it is 204 vehicles per 1,000 people and the minimum rate in developed nations is 400 vehicles per 1,000 people.
With per capita income in Vietnam estimated to rise to above $3,000 in 2021, with infrastructure improvement and attractive demographic features, the demand for cars will significantly increase.
However, Vietnam does not have its own automobile brand. The current car industry solely involves imports and assembling.
Therefore, it is based on solid search evaluations that Vingroup decided the time is right to invest in VinFast, a car and electric bike manufacturing project. The group’s goal is to build a Vietnamese car brand on an international scale, simultaneously contributing to the development of a leading industry in Vietnam.
Vingroup is among the largest capitalized stocks in the country at over $13 billion. As of 2017, total assets of Vingroup reached nearly VND 214.9 trillion ($9.3 billion) with an equity of VND 52.3 trillion ($2.2 billion). Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong is also Vietnam's richest man with total assets of more than $6.8 billion, according to Forbes.