VinFast could eventually enter electric pickup game

VinFast, the car unit of Vietnam’s largest listed conglomerate Vingroup, could eventually enter the electric pickup truck market, a top U.S. executive said.

"VinFast is focused on launching sales of its electric SUVs in the U.S. market later this year, but its vehicle platform allows for expansion into other types of vehicles," Craig Westbrook, chief service officer for VinFast U.S., was quoted by Reuters as saying at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit on Thursday.

"We want to serve the needs of the market," he said in response to whether VinFast would ever look to sell an electric pickup.

"If we decide that’s what the market needs and that fits our brand especially, and I think it absolutely could, yeah. It’s something we should consider," Westbrook added.

A VinFast electric truck would join the likes of Ford F-150 Lightning, GM’s Hummer EV and Rivian R1T of Michigan-based Rivian, according to Jalopnik, a news and opinion website based in the U.S. about cars and the automotive industry.

"And, given VinFast’s (so far reasonable) track record on delivering on its promises, might there be yet another electric pickup we see on the road before the Cybertruck?" the website wrote.

VinFast, established in 2017, launched its first fossil fuel cars in October 2018, and is expanding its EV sales and services networks in Europe and the U.S. The Vietnamese carmaker had earlier announced it would put an end to making gasoline-fueled cars by the end of 2022.

The firm recently planned to open more than 50 stores in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

In March, the Vingroup unit signed a preliminary deal to initially invest $2 billion to build a factory in North Carolina, the U.S making electric buses, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) along with batteries for EVs.