EV maker VinFast launches pickup truck concept, plans to sell mini-EV globally

VIETNAMESE electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast on Tuesday (Jan 9) launched a prototype of its new pickup truck, and said it plans to launch its mini-sized VF 3 model globally.

VinFast said the electric pickup truck being showcased at the CES 2024 trade show in Las Vegas, VF Wild, is in the mid-size pickup category. It did not disclose a timeframe for its roll-out or its expected driving range.

The company also said on Tuesday its four-seater mini-eSUV VF 3, which has a target driving range of more than 201 kilometres per full charge, will be up for sale globally, having initially been aimed solely at the Vietnamese market.

It did not give a timeframe for delivery, but said it would start to take reservations this year. First deliveries of the vehicle in Vietnam are due in the third quarter.

VinFast, which was founded in 2017 and began delivering cars in California last March, had sold around 21,200 units as of the third quarter last year, more than half of them to its affiliate. Its management expects it to break even by 2025.

Shares in the group, which went public last year after a merger with a blank cheque company, were trading at US$6.79 apiece as at Monday, 33 per cent below its listing price and 85 per cent below the closing price on its initial public offering day. REUTERS

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