VinFast brought its itty bitty electric SUV, the VF 3, to CES 2024, though it’s not technically new. It was shown last summer. But its presence at CES comes with news: VinFast will be offering it not just in Vietnam, but globally, which may be partly a response to dealers.
A quick reintroduction of the VF 3: it’s a little two-door SUV very much in the vein of the equally adorable Suzuki Jimny. In fact, it’s actually smaller. At just 125.6 inches long, it’s nearly 18 inches shorter than the Suzuki. It’s about 2 inches wider (66.1 inches) than the export-market Jimny, and about 4 inches lower in height (63.8 inches). It has rather small wheels, too at 16 inches in diameter. Somehow, there apparently are seats for four people, though we sincerely question the usability of the rear seats. Contributing to that theory is the fact that VinFast claims 19.4 cubic feet of maximum cargo space.
As such, this seems more like a cute urban runabout more than a particularly practical off-roader. The targeted range fits the bill, too. VinFast is aiming for 125 miles on a charge. It didn’t say what test cycle that’s on. If it’s on the WLTP test, that could end up being less for the U.S.
While that seems a bit underwhelming, there is an aspect that could get people back on board. Apparently VinFast talked with U.S. dealers about models, and it was suggested the VF 3 could be offered for less than $20,000. It certainly had those dealers interested, what with the great styling and affordability, and they reportedly really wanted it.
That brings us to the global availability. VinFast didn’t get anymore specific about markets besides offering it in more places than Vietnam. It said that it will give more specific launch timing for each market as they become available, but it will start taking orders this year. It would certainly seem the U.S. is at least under consideration, if nothing else, with this debut at CES and with VinFast’s determination to sell cars in America. It’s even planning on building in America, too, as it has a factory under construction. So stay tuned to see if we get this tiny SUV.
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