The life of the automaker Vinfast is not a long, quiet river. Created in 2018 by the billionaire PHạM NHậT Vượng at the head of the largest Vietnam industry group, this newcomer to the automotive industry had quickly become a 100% electric brand and hoped for rapid global development like Tesla.
After a spectacular launch in Vietnam to which Caradisiac attended in the summer of 2022, nothing went as planned for Vinfast. The first tests of the American press of the VF8 were catastrophic and in Europe, the brand has never organized a real media presentation for this model, including the first trials in France and other countries on the old continent were mainly carried out by Youtubers remunerated directly by Vinfast. As for VF8 sales, they have never taken off.
VINFAST also placed on other models with higher potential that appeared after VF8 such as VF6, in full commercial launch. But will these new features have time to save the brand on our market?
The end of history in Europe?
Because according to German journalists from Elektroauto News saying that he could consult internal documents from the automaker, Vinfast would have decided downright to close all its sales network in Europe from May 9, 2025. We are talking about the manufacturer’s direct sales network, with an annotation indicating that the “Direct sales model no longer works in the current context because of customs taxes and other macro-economic uncertainties”.
-The sources of Elektroauto News specify that 90% of European wine employees in Vinfast will be dismissed according to this strategy, but that those who will remain will be reassigned to more conventional sales systems via dealerships.
Increasingly abyssal debts
This judgment of the direct sale of vinfast in Europe would therefore not necessarily mean a total stop of the manufacturer’s activities on our market, but the manufacturer would like to focus on the development of its presence in the Asia region where the commercial potential would be judged to be superior.
Despite the increase in its sales in 2024 (97,400 vehicles sold worldwide), Vinfast lost $ 3.18 billion over this last year. Can the automotive brand hope to turn green in the future with better products? The new compact VF6 SUV, recently tried by Caradisiac, Go ahead Even if he still has gaps in relation to his competitors.
We have contacted Vinfast France, who has not yet responded on the subject.
