In addition to other Vingroup subsidiaries entering overseas markets, VinFast is planning to launch in Russia.

Russian newswire Auto.Vesti has revealed images of VinFast models in the database of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent). The newswire said that the Vietnamese automobiles equipped with German technology setting foot in Russia may have been a long time in the making.

The two VinFast models registered in Russia are the ones that were introduced at the end of 2018, the SUV Lux SA2.0 and Sedan Lux A2.0. The managers of VinFast also mentioned Russia in some of their speeches and interviews with local media last year, lauding the market’s potential.

"These two models are expected to be sold in Russia from early 2020," Auto.Vesti said.

These models are equipped with twin-scroll turbocharged 2.0L gasoline engines with ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, developed on the basis of BMW’s N20 engines, which are largely popular in Russia.

“Based on this, the Lux A2.0 and SA2.0 seem very much like the BMW 5-Series and X5-Series under the hood,”Vu Tan Cong from Opec Plastic JSC, a company in the automobile supporting industry told VIR when the VinFast cars were first showcased at the Paris Motor Show last year.

The two VinFast models are the outcomes of the co-operation with leading automobile manufacturer BMW and numerous well-known companies like Siemens, Magna, and Bosch. The cars were designed by Italian Pinifarina.

"In addition to the ASEAN market, where VinFast expects tough competition from European, Japanese, and South Korean brands, in my opinion, Africa could be a potential market for VinFast in the long term," Cong said.

Last month, the first VinFast Lux SA2.0 rolled off the factory lines, marking the success of the "Made in Vietnam" commercial automobile test production cycle, and is being tested overseas for five months before commercial manufacturing.

Also in March 2019, Vingroup's VinSmart officially announced the distribution of Vsmart phones in Spain through the number one European consumer electronics retailer Media Markt.

Recently, Vingroup has been spreading its wings across the globe. In last July, VinFast also inaugurated its representative office in Germany's Frankfurt, and VinTech was also launched in Daegu, South Korea last month to study the application of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and develop smart solutions.

VIR