VinFast claims its E-Motorcycles are suitable for our flood-prone conditions
It’s the habagat season, and unfortunately, due to a combination of factors like climate change and government corruption, flooding and horrible road conditions are the main concerns, especially for those who have to get around.
VinFast and its VinFast E-Motorcycles division claim that its recently launched battery-powered motorcycles are suitable for our conditions, saying that their two-wheelers are “designed to withstand flood-prone roads in the Philippines”.
Its three initial offerings—the Evo, the Feliz II, and the Viper– according to VinFast, all sport IP67-rated powertrains. What does this mean? This rating indicates the ingress protection of the internals, where the first number indicates the strength of its dust protection, and the second digit is for its water ingress protection.
According to VinFast’s internal testing, it can withstand submersion in 0.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, up to 30 minutes of driving through 0.5 meters of water, and protection from dust and debris (like sand and silt) from entering the powertrain.
Apart from this, the hot-swappable 1.5kWh LFP batteries are designed with impact protection in mind, which meets the European ECE-R136 safety requirements, meaning that accidental drops, impacts from slipping, or even the gnarliest of potholes won’t be able to cause damage to the battery, alongside additional overvoltage and high temperature protection.
The Evo 2 has a top speed of up to 80kph and can travel up to 150km on a single charge, while the Viper and Feliz II bring that top speed up to 90kph, but with a slight range penalty, with a maximum range of up to 145km on a single charge. However, the latter two add luxuries, such as a smart key, anti-theft protection, and vehicle tracking.
Again, just because these are capable doesn’t mean that you should be actively fording floods in the first place. Consider it a last resort if you have to, but it’s best to avoid them as much as possible. However, we can take VinFast’s word for the capability, as there have been multiple viral videos from the recent habagat showing GreenGSM VinFast taxis fording through floods that would’ve waterlocked an ICE car, though that usually is true of electric vehicles.
Photo from VinFast
