After decades of reeling in the aftermath of war, Vietnam seems to be building itself back and a very good indicator of such a recovery is the car market. Vingroup consortium, led by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, has already started the groundwork to become the first carmaker from the Southeast Asian country.
With five factories across the country and component-deals with Siemens and Bosch, Vinfast has assigned the development of their first two cars to Pininfarina, the legendary Italian designer. Now a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group (yes it is known as an Indian subsidiary), Pininfarina will build an SUV and a sedan and has stated that the models will be displayed as early as the 2018 Paris Motor Show.
It is said that intellectual property is being bought from BMW and that should speed up the development process, at the same time integrating years of car-building experience into the design. As usual, the Pininfarina designs favour sleek lines that lean towards classy rather than the ultra-modern in-your-face aggressive designs that have started becoming the trend. The fascia of both the cars have different elements flowing together to form a V, which should be the logo/signature of the brand.
