Vietnam’s VinFast Announces 3 Self-Driving Electric SUVs
They’re Called VF31, VF32, and VF33
By now, you may have heard of a little Vietnamese car company famed for building BMW-based cars called VinFast. Well, they’ve just announced their next step: 3 new self-driving electric vehicles. These vehicles will all be engineered to meet 5-Star Euro NCAP safety ratings and have their battery packs arranged on the floor of the chassis.
To be fair, they’re not really fully self-driving. The smallest of the lot, the C-segment VF31 will have just Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) for limited self-driving and steering assistance features. Order books are opened in May of 2021, with deliveries expected in November 2021.
The D-segment VF32 and the E-segment VF33 will both have self-driving capabilities up in the level 2 to 3 categories.
Level 2 is already delivered by some ‘everyday’ cars today, as it just means a combination of active cruise control with lane centring. The driver still needs to have their hands on the wheels and be ready to take over at a moment’s notice. Level 3 is more promising and difficult to pull off, as it allows the driver to take their hands and eyes off the roads. These two larger, more sophisticated vehicles will be ready for bookings in September 2021 (November in export markets).
It’s not all fluff either, these cars will be using very high-tech hardware to achieve their self-driving capabilities. Nvidia’s Orin-X chip, LiDAR, multiple cameras and 360-degree sensors, as well as artificial intelligence to piece it all together, will be present on the top-spec cars.
PRESS RELEASE
On 22 January 2021, VinFast announced 3 brand new self-driving electric SUV models, using AI with many outstanding smart features. This is an important milestone, affirming the vision of becoming a global smart electric vehicle company; and contributing to bringing Vietnam to a new level on the world map of automobile industry.
With this strategic vision, after only 3 years in operation, VinFast has successfully researched and developed the first three self-driving electric cars: VF31, VF32, VF33. All 3 SUVs are multi-purpose vehicles, with a strong and trendy high-chassis design; capable of steering and self-driving assistance; equipped with outstanding safety and intelligence features.
In particular, the VF31 is a mid-sized SUV/C-segment with basic self-driving and steering assistance features such as lane departure warning, blind spot warning, vehicle cross-section warning when reversing, vehicle warning from behind when opening. door, reverse camera, 360 camera, front-back parking assist sensor, automatic headlight …
VF32 (mid-size SUV/D-segment) and VF33 (full-size SUV/E-segment) own self-driving level of 2-3, with 30 intelligent features divided into 7 groups including: driver assistance, lane control, speed control, scene collision warning and mitigation, parking assistance and driver monitoring. This is among the few vehicles in the world, which reach level 3 autopilot capability, affirming VinFast’s R&D capacity and ability to deploy high-class, pioneering products.
In particular, the full-option versions of VF33, VF32 and VF31 own high-performance sensor systems including LiDAR sensors; 14 cameras are capable of detecting objects up to 687m away; 19 360-degree sensors allow warning and handling at high speeds (above 100km/h). The self-driving system controlled by the Orin-X chip can process up to 200 GB of data per second, allowing control and navigation up to eight times faster than current generations. In addition, the full-option versions of all 3 models are equipped with some level 4 autopilot features such as automatic 3-dimensional map setting (first and only in the market), auto-detect parking slot and auto-parking; summoning vehicles… with the ability to connect with the transport system and smart cities, bringing comfort, safety and high-class experience to the users.
In addition to outstanding autopilot features – with the “customer-centric” philosophy – VinFast specially invests in smart features (virtual cockpit) with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence technology (AI), deep learning (Deep Learning), facial recognition, multi-lingual virtual assistant, etc. The above features not only open up a space for enjoyment, but also fully customizable to personalize the vehicle according to the characteristics and usage habits of the owner. This is an outstanding difference that VinFast focuses on accelerating user experience, creating every most valuable moment, only available in VinFast electric cars.
In terms of safety, all 3 models meet the world’s highest safety standards such as NHTSA 5*, Euro NCAP 5* with automatic detection, warning and notification systems to medical centers when users have accident. The batteries are arranged under the floor of the car, with heat resistance from 400C to 800C to ensure absolute safety when driving. In addition, all vehicles have automatic updating software and detecting faults and contacting service stations, etc.
The VF31 car is expected to start receiving orders in Vietnam from May 2021, and hand over to customers from November 2021.
VF32 and VF33 will receive orders from September 2021 in Vietnam, hand over from February 2022. In the US and Canadian, European market, VinFast will receive orders from November 2021 and hand over from June 2022.
The launch of smart electric vehicles, including electric scooters, electric buses and electric cars, is part of VinFast’s predetermined roadmap since joining the auto market – 3 years ago. In addition to the most modern factory complex in Southeast Asia in Vietnam, VinFast currently owns a network of R&D centers in Australia, Germany and the US; and a world-class vehicle testing center in Australia. This is a solid foundation for VinFast to reach its global vision and become a popular high-tech electric vehicle company in the world as well as develop green transport eco-system and reducing emissions.
About the Author
Subhash Nair Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.
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