Football legend David Beckham
kicks-off Vietnam’s entry into the global automobile market
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, David Beckham, was guest of honour, launching the new VinFast cars at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday. “These cars are incredible, sleek and high-tech,” said Beckham. “It is amazing. It is so, so beautiful. To create something in such a short space of time is really incredible. VinFast is a miracle for Vietnam.”
The former England football captain was joined on stage in Paris by Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy.
Speaking at the event, VinFast Chairwoman Le Thị Thu Thuy said VinFast was the newest member of the Vingroup, the largest private firm in Vietnam.”Vingroup’s goal is to build Vietnam’s international brand. The two cars are the first achievement on the path of realising that mission, naming on the map of the world car manufacturing industry,” she said. More than a dream, VinFast had a seemingly impossible journey: Within just a year, it turned a swamp into the leading modern automobile manufacturing factory.
Located in coastal land Cat Hai in the northern city of Hai Phong, the 335ha area of marsh land deserted nearly a year ago has now become a modern VinFast automobile plant with a capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year by 2025. Journalist Paul Eisenstain from CNBC said he was extremely impressed as he visited VinFast Hai Phong complex. “It’s huge and modern with scale no less than the modern automobile plant in the world,” he said.
VinFast’s sedan and SUV models used BMW’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines and Italian design from Pininfarina. The appearance of VinFast at the Paris Motor Show 2018 has astounded professionals in the industry and international media. Thousands of articles have been written about the vehicles, which have been developed in just over 365 days.
VinFast said it was currently co-operating with leading names in Europe and America in the automotive field such as BMW, Bosch, Magna Steyr and Pininfarina, who have the best technology and experience in the world, creating LUX A2.0 and LUX SA2.0 with superior “Vietnamese identity – Italian design – German technology – international standard”.
With the goal of producing a “national car” for the Vietnamese, VinFast organised the program “Choosing lovely car with VinFast” from the designs created by four famous Italian studios: Pininfarina, Zagato, Torino and Ital Design. The programme attracted 62,000 entries, resulting in two designs of Ital Design was voted the most.
Source: The Nation