While the European Union is thinking about how to protect domestic electric car manufacturers from Chinese companies, another Asian company is sending its electric cars to the EU. It is Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast, which plans to deliver 3,000 electric VF8 models by the end of this year.

VinFast has received approval to import its first electric SUV into the EU, which is manufactured at a factory in northern Vietnam. The cars will be delivered to the French, German and Dutch markets, making the EU the largest overseas market for this Vietnamese company. Earlier this year, the company delivered about 2,100 electric vehicles to the United States.

“We expect to deliver the first VF8 models to French, German and Dutch customers in the last quarter of this year,” said CEO, Le Thi Thu Thuy. He also added that other models VF6, VF7 and VF9 will be delivered to the European market next year.

VinFast VF8 is a mid-size crossover SUV that comes in options of one or two electric motors. The VF8 in a single-motor variant with front-wheel drive, delivered 201 hp (150 kW) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque (FWD).

The VF 8 with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive comes as ECO with 348 hp (260 kW; 353 PS) and 368 lb⋅ft (499 N⋅m) or as Plus with 402 hp (300 kW; 408 PS) and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm). Two types of batteries are offered, 82 or 87.7 kWh, which allows a maximum range of 264 miles on a full charge. The more powerful VF8 Plus reaches 62 mph in 5.5 seconds with a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h).

Source: VinFast