Ultra Cheap VinFast VF3 Mini EV Considered For U.S. Lineup: Report

Vietnamese automaker VinFast is reportedly considering adding a fifth vehicle to its planned U.S. lineup, and it's a very unlikely choice – the VF3 mini crossover.

Designed for the Vietnamese market, the VinFast VF3 could have potential for the U.S. market as a sub-$20,000 city car targeting budget-minded Americans, VinFast representatives told Automotive News.

First shown in June, the VinFast VF3 is a boxy, high-riding two-door vehicle that measures just 122.6 inches in length, making it some 10 inches shorter than the similar Baojun Yep co-developed by GM with its Chinese partners SAIC and Wuling.

The company did not reveal details about the vehicle's electric motor and battery, but said the VF3 offers "impressive travel distance" tailored to the needs and daily usage patterns of most Vietnamese drivers. Given its size and market positioning, the VF3 likely features a single-motor, two-wheel-drive powertrain.

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Despite the fact that the VF3 is so small, it is said to have won over prospective VinFast dealers in the U.S., who are apparently urging the automaker to import it as a low-end EV model.

VinFast said it is "researching the demand and potential for the VF3 model in the U.S., following the positive responses from our dealers." The company added that "further details will be announced in due course."

Vietnam's first automaker recently announced a shift from being a direct-to-consumer brand to a hybrid retail model that also includes franchised dealerships.

The carmaker is currently in the process of selecting dealers across the USA; it said in a regulatory filing that it has recruited 27 dealers in a dozen states to sell its EVs after holding meetings with dealers. 

Duke Hale, an adviser to the automaker, told Automotive News that VinFast brought an actual-size foam model of the VF3 to two meetings with prospective dealers last month, one in Tampa, Florida, and one in Dallas, Texas.

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The dealers that attended the events, about 100 of them, were nearly unanimous in wanting the VF3 for the US market, Hale said. "They liked the whole lineup but the VF3, I would say, got an almost 100 percent response," he said. "They really liked the VF3 and the reason is it's probably sub-$20,000."

VinFast has not announced a price for the VF3 in Vietnam but said it will be accessibly priced to appeal to the masses. The automaker said the tiny EV has the potential to become the new "national vehicle" for the Vietnamese people. Sales of the VF3 in Vietnam are expected to start next year, with deliveries to begin in the third quarter of 2024.

The brand's cheapest vehicle in Vietnam at the moment is the larger, subcompact VF6 that starts around $28,000. If it makes it to the U.S. with a sub-$20,000 MSRP, the VinFast VF3 would become America's cheapest EV by far. 

VinFast has so far confirmed four models for the U.S. market, all crossovers: the mid-size VF8 that's already on sale in California, the slightly larger three-row VF9 that starts at $83,000, the VF6 subcompact, and the VF7 compact. The automaker is building a factory in North Carolina to produce some of these vehicles.