New carmaker VinFast will launch three sharp new models in the coming 18 months.
VinFast has previewed three new all-electric SUV models that will launch in North America and Europe soon, but plans for Australia remain unknown.
The Vietnamese carmaker is about to leap from its current BMW-based model offerings sold in Vietnam to a manufacturer of EVs with sophisticated technology plans to sell the models from next year. That will be following a late-2021 debut of the new VF31, VF32 and VF33, which represent a small, medium and large-size SUV lineup.
The largest of the bunch is ripe for North America while the V32 is prioritised for Europe, The VF31 is likely to remain in Vietnam – meaning all left-hand markets are being spoken for but RHD production and any introduction to Australia has not been mentioned, despite the manufacturer purchasing Lang Lang proving ground from General Motors last year and employing ex-Holden staff.
In any event, the new models appear to be loaded with some of the best safety technology of any car available today, touting the potential for Level 4 driverless ability; hands-off driving, and just one step from full driverless Level 5.
This comes via Lidar sensors, 15 cameras, and an Nvidia Orin chipset, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication (which is being trialed in Melbourne already). VinFast already claims that these vehicles will meet NHTSA and EuroNCAP five-star ratings.
The largest model is powered by twin electric motors with a 106kWh lithium-ion battery pack under the floor. This produces 300kW of power and should deliver around 480km of driving range. The same dual-motor setup producing 300kW can be optioned in the smaller VF32, which otherwise is equipped with a 150kW single electric motor and 90kWh battery for a similar range.
The small VF31 produces just 85kW and gets a Nissan Leaf-sized 42kWh battery pack.
While other details remain slim, models are equipped with leading technology inside too, such as portrait style screens sized up to 15.4-inches and digital driving cluster screens.
