PARIS -- Vietnam's first domestic auto brand, VinFast, will name its first sedan the Lux A2.0 and first SUV the Lux SA2.0.
Deliveries of the two models will start in Vietnam in June 2019, the company said, with exports starting in 2020. VinFast declined to identify any export markets.
The cars are based on modified BMW platforms and are powered by BMW 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engines reworked for VinFast by Austrian engine specialist AVL.
The design of the cars was created by Italdesign and modified by Pininfarina.
The vehicles would be affordable for the Vietnamese market, said VinFast CEO James DeLuca on the sidelines of the Paris auto show. DeLuca is a former head of manufacturing for General Motors. "These are every bit as aspirational as a premium car, but the price point is much more midmarket," he said, without giving a figure.
The 2.0-liter engine is available with either 174 hp or 228 hp in the sedan and just 228 hp for the seven-seat SUV. The more powerful sedan accelerates to 100 kph (62 mph) in 7.1 seconds, VinFast claims. Both engines are rated as Euro 5 on emissions, which is higher than the current Vietnamese standard of Euro 4, VinFast said.
The sedan measures 4,973 mm long, making it similar in length to the BMW 5 series. The SUV is a little shorter at 4,940 mm, which is just over 80 mm longer than the current BMW X5.