VinFast's (intended) total world dominance is not yet going as the company hoped. Woe to you if you criticize that, like an influencer in your home country of Vietnam.
In theory, VinFast's lifespan seems to have gotten off to a pretty good start. In 2018, the brand made waves in its home country Vietnam as its own car manufacturer with, er, non-self-built models. The A2.0 and SA2.0 were a sedan and SUV designed by Pininfarina that, not entirely coincidentally, had a BMW engine on board. They were simply a BMW 5 Series and X5 with a modified body. Nevertheless, the brand managed to sell cars in Vietnam, although it will help that a license-built version of the Opel Karl was sold there as VinFast Fadil.
VinFast version 2
But VinFast wants more. It is typically a brand that aims for total world domination. Fine, but then you have to come up with something better than warmed-over BMW cliques. That's what the brand came up with: a whole electric model range is planned, with the VinFast VF8 as its first achievement. You can already pre-order it in many markets, including ours. VinFast is already available in the US: the VF8 can already be ordered there.
Criticism
Is it all hosanna then? No. In fact, being able to offer a 'groundbreaking' and competitively priced mid-range SUV is actually not what the critics think of the VinFast VF8. To shamelessly plug Jalopnik: last year they uploaded perhaps the best car article of 2023 about one of their writers who was created by VinFast was invited to test the VF8.
In short, the writer in question was immersed in the world of VinFast, which is just one of the branches of Vingroup. This brainchild of a Vietnamese businessman grew into an empire that has the whole of Vietnam in its grip. You can go to the VinMarkt to do some shopping, you can go to the VinWonder amusement park with your kids and the event for the VF8 was held on a private island of Vingroup, completely tailor-made for them.
While the VF8 itself was not that impressive at all. The car felt incomplete, did not drive well and did not deliver much of the promised power, because the VF8 has a system that reduces power if your battery level falls below 50 percent. If you have questions about VinFast's intended world domination, you could bump into any employee. Someone who could answer your critical questions about the VF8 was harder to find.
Influencer criticizes
That seems to be a trend, the 'blinders' that VinFast seems to have on for a critical note of serious car journalism. Now, however, the brand is going one step further. In Vietnam, VinFast called on police to arrest an influencer who criticized VF8 through Facebook groups. The influencer in question, one Sonnie Tran, was arrested, interrogated for no less than 35 hours and all his electronic devices and data were seized. All this under a law that in Vietnam prohibits thwarting the interests of others – in this case VinFast.
And if you are spreading fake news, the authorities and VinFast may have a point too. The problem is that Tran based his criticism on facts and actual research. His accusations include that the company is exaggerating quite a bit about how well it is doing. For example, VinFast is said to be in deep debt, but hides this with letterbox companies. In addition, according to Tran, the brand has quite exaggerated their sales figures. Finally, a harsh accusation for car enthusiasts: the design would not come from Pininfarina at all, but VinFast would use third parties in China and India to design their cars.
This isn't even the first time VinFast has tried to nip criticism in the bud. In 2021, the brand was also after a Vietnamese YouTuber who portrayed the VinFast VF8 as an underperforming car. In the US, the exaggerated numbers are also correct, as VinFast claims to put a completely different number on the stock markets than they actually do. Linked to a loss of millions in Q3 of 2023. In short: there is probably a large grain of truth in the criticism, but VinFast does not want to face it. (through The Drive)
This article Influencer criticizes VinFast, is arrested first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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