Vietnam's first EV - VinFast VF e34 goes on sale, RM 125k but batteries not included

After a successful entry into Vietnam’s electric motorcycles, VinFast has launched its first electric car, the VinFast VF e34, a B-segment electric SUV. 

Prices start from VND 690 million (about RM 125k) but the price doesn’t include the 42 kWh battery, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Since the battery is the most expensive part of an electric vehicle, plus the fact that service life and replacement cost are a major concern for prospective buyers, VinFast’s solution to customers is to remove the battery from the cost of the car, and make battery as a subscription-only service.

This way, the customer doesn’t need to worry about replacing the battery. When performance drops, the customer will simply swap the old battery with a new one.

Instead of bundling the battery with the car, VinFast customers will pay a monthly battery subscription service VND 1.45 million (about RM 264), capped at a monthly travel limit of 1,400 km. Customers who exceeded the travel limit will be charged VND 1,482 (RM 0.27) per km.

That’s a pretty reasonable sum, and even after adding electricity cost, the running cost of the VF e34 isn’t too different from the fuel cost of a regular combustion engine car, keeping in mind that petrol prices are higher in Vietnam – RM 4.21 for RON 92 and RM 4.43 for RON 95. But these prices are unusually high even by Vietnamese standards, and are due to the increase in global crude oil prices.

VinFast adds that once customers factor the fact that electric vehicles need a lot less maintenance, the total running cost is actually lower than comparable combustion engine cars.

VinFast also offers a 10-year warranty on the VF e34. 

The infotainment also comes with VinFast's signature ViVi voice command AI personal assistant.

The VF e34 makes 150 PS and 242 Nm, and has a claimed driving range of 285 km. It weighs 1,490 kg and measures slightly smaller than a Proton X50, but with a longer wheelbase. Think Kia Seltos, and you won't be too far off.

The car comes with 2.2 kW and 3.3 kW mobile chargers, which when plugged in to Vietnamese 220 V domestic power sockets, takes between 7 to 11 hours to charge from 10 percent to 70 percent.

Faster dedicated 7.4 kW wallbox chargers will cut the charging time, raising charge levels from 10 percent to 70 percent in 3 hours 15 minutes.

The car uses Type-2 AC / CCS2 DC chargers. It also accepts up to 250 kW fast DC charging, which gives it a 180 km range in 18 minutes.

Confused about these EV- related acronyms and charging standards? We have a simplified explanation here.