VinFast is like a diamond in the rough, birth pains and all

VinFast is a very interesting brand. 

I’ve had some weird experiences with this Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) brand, among them—a media test unit that had all its warning lights on, and another one that was provided to us for an ad shoot that lacked windshield wipers and was in a terribly filthy condition.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say those sort of tainted my impression of the brand. After all, showing these faults while trying to make a good impression will never go together. Despite that sore personal experience, VinFast appears to be doing quite well in the Philippines. 

For the first quarter of 2026, the brand was the top selling battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand in the Philippines* with a total of 1,171 units sold within the months of January to March. While data for the month of April 2026 shows that VinFast sales dropped down to zero, this is allegedly due to the lack of supply as demand is supposedly very high.
_{*Among CAMPI members}

But just how much can you trust a young automaker like VinFast?

Like before, the brand once again flew us to their home country to get yet another in-depth look at their operations, and new products such as the VF MPV 7 which was launched in early May, and their e-scooter lineup which will soon be making their Philippine debut. You may already know what VinFast is, who owns it, its sister companies, and its ecosystem. If not, be sure to read this. 

READ: VinFast and its high hopes for the Philippines, how will it work?

First on the agenda during this trip was a tour of the VinFast Manufacturing Facility in the city of Haiphong, two hours east of Hanoi, and the same one visited back in October 2025, where we even got hit by stray welding sparks, making its safety somewhat questionable. 

Did they fix that issue? We don’t know as that area was no longer made part of our tour. Hmmm…

But anyway, as a refresher, this facility really shows the scale of VinFast as an automaker. Sitting on 335 hectares of land, the facility is capable of producing 300,000 vehicles per year, 1,000,000 e-scooters per year, and 3,000 VinBus electric buses per year, on its assembly lines which are 98% automated, and with over 12,000 robotic machinery, and 16 different production areas.

After that, we took a flight to the city of Nha Thrang, the location of Vinpearl Land, supposedly one of the first major investments of VinFast’s parent company, the Vingroup, decades ago. And while it may sound like a vacation, we were actually here to do some test drives.

One thing I was excited about was experiencing the brand’s e-scooters. Unfortunately, the test course for these was really small, about four meters wide and 20m long, not exactly enough to fully test out how they perform.

I decided to try out the VinFast Viper, their current flagship and largest offering. I’m no expert when it comes to two-wheeled vehicles, but despite being the largest with its Honda Click-like size, it was very lightweight and its ride height of 780mm was perfect for me who stands at 170cm of height. This made it very easy to handle through the small course, matched perfectly with plenty of low end torque as expected from its electric propulsion.

I was curious to experience the entry-level VinFast Evo and mid-grade Feliz II models, but unfortunately it was getting a bit too hot (hotter than the Philippines), and there really wasn’t much we could do in the very small test course.

What we were able to properly drive on proper roads was the VinFast VF MPV 7, the brand’s latest offering for our market, launched just less than a month before the time of this writing. I’ve done it all—third row passenger, second row passenger, and of course, driver.

READ: Specs, Pricing, and Features of the VinFast VF MPV 7 in the Philippines

Whether you were seated on the second or third row, you could feel how well tuned the suspension of this MPV was. It was firm, but not harsh, and most importantly, not too soft to a point of being wallowy. This also helps in the handling department where it remains very planted on the road with only very minimal body roll.

Behind the wheel, it was surprisingly very easy to find a comfortable driving position despite the lack of reach adjustment for the steering column. Power and torque delivery were also commendable, not the fastest especially with a full load, but more than enough for its purpose as a family hauler. 

Is it a better choice compared to popular MPVs such as the Toyota Innova and Mitsubishi Xpander? That brings me to the title of this writeup. VinFast is like a diamond in the rough. 

The brand’s lineup has a lot of potential. On paper, they are as good as any other new car on the market, their facilities show how serious they are, and the backing they have is one that other (and even larger) companies could only dream of. The problem? Birth pains.

The VinFast Viper could use some improvements in the quality department. During my test ride, I placed my camera inside the storage compartment under the seat. Upon wanting to retrieve it, I could no longer flip up the seat and get my camera back. It took a good 30 minutes of trying before even people from VinFast were able to help me.

And while we had a lot of good things to say about the VinFast VF MPV 7, I noticed that wind noise was a problem on the second row, and upon getting behind the wheel, there was a very distinct vibration at speed, something specific to the test vehicle that we drove.

I trust that VinFast will be able to do these refinements, as I’ve seen it on the VF 3. In the three times I’ve experienced their small SUV, I would notice better door closing thuds, to better build quality for its plastics. There was always something that you could feel was improved. Seeing this is very much a welcome thing, and hopefully we are right that refinements are being done to their products as time goes by.

Democratizing EVs

Even with growing EV adoption in the Philippines, price remains an issue. VinFast has approached this with its different customer programs.

There’s the Battery Subscription Program which lowers the upfront costs of EV ownership, along with battery maintenance, to the Residual Value Guarantee, a Philippine-exclusive program that lets owners worry less about resale value. These moves are also aligned with the company’s “Rewriting The Rules” campaign, implementing something that isn’t the norm in the automotive and motorcycle industries.

VinFast Executive Technical Advisor Devarajan Ranganathan even mentioned that while nothing is solid, the company is evaluating their future direction to include potentially producing other types of electrified products such as plug-in hybrids (PHEV), a similar move done by BYD which is enjoying a very good amount of sales in our market.

Not only would that move allow VinFast to cater to more mass market segments and customers, it also adds the potential for even more affordable products. 

It’s all about brand acceptance

VinFast is lucky that it does not have to deal with the negative stigma that Chinese automakers had to (and still) deal with. The fact that it’s a brand from a fellow Southeast Asian country has already given it a huge fighting chance.

Again, VinFast is like a diamond in the rough–there are quality issues, the brand is still trying to establish itself, and we don’t really know how its programs, especially the Residual Value Guarantee, will be taken advantage of by its customers–and yet it continues to show what it’s capable of, and still continues to grow in our highly competitive market of brand loyalists.

The numbers so far are promising, let’s talk again in a few months.

_{Photos by Julian Panlilio, Wowie Go, and RM Hebron}