After penetrating its former colonisers in the United States and Europe, Vietnamese battery electric vehicles (BEV) company, VinFast, is setting its sights on its right-hand drive (RHD) ASEAN neighbours. Following unveilings in Indonesia and Thailand, Malaysia could be next as seen by these spyshots.
Our friends at Careta and Funtasticko published photos of the VinFast VF e34 that were spotted around Penchala and Pandan Indah respectively. The unit spotted in Penchala did not bear any plates outside but it had its steering wheel on the right while the one spotted in Pandan Indah was fitted with a trade plate with the registration W/TP 2403.
The trade plate doesn’t seem to bring up any connection with any known distributors. Funtasticko reported that the unit could either be used for internal testing or by a recond dealer for test driving purposes.
According to Careta which published the Penchala photo, the driver of the VF e34 wore a VinFast shirt and the unit had a highly sophisticated-looking camera inside.
The VF e34 is VinFast’s first BEV passenger car. Though the Vietnamese carmaker is only 6 years old, it shocked the world by announcing that it would switch to BEV-only at the end of 2022. Before this, it was offering rebadged BMWs and Opels for the domestic market.
The B-segment crossover is powered by an electric motor on the front axle that makes 150 PS and 242 Nm. It is juiced up by a 42-kWh battery with a range of 318.6 km (NEDC) but there is a caveat.
VinFast chargers in Vietnam shown
To quote those sped-up disclaimers at the end of toy commercials, batteriesaresoldseparately. VinFast employs a unique battery subscription model in which owners would have to pay extra for the batteries depending on the planned distance.
The Vietnamese BEV maker will maintain and replace the battery free of charge if the capacity falls below 70% as part of the subscription plan.
Not only will this lessen the burden faced by the owner on potential high battery replacement costs, but VinFast claims the combined cost of subscription and charging would be significantly lower than an ICE-powered car in the same segment.
The VF e34 is available in Indonesia with prices starting from IDR 315 million (~RM 94k) sans battery. Monthly subscription rates for the battery start from IDR 1.5 million (RM 446).
VinFast also introduced itself at the 2024 Bangkok Motor Show with other RHD models on display like the VF 5, VF 6, VF 8, and VF 9. The VF e34 is likely to be the first model introduced in the Kingdom and it could be launched there as early as June.
As for Malaysia, VinFast is planning to launch here soon as our country is among the RHD markets mentioned during its Indonesian plant announcement. Perhaps we might see the Vietnamese BYD make its way here in 2025 when the Indonesian plant begins operations.
Traded advertising for a career that fits his passion for cars. Enjoys spotting cars during his free time and has a soft spot for Japanese Kei cars but drives a thirsty manual sedan.
