Getting to the VinFast lane

Let's just say that VinFast didn't get off to a roaring start in the Philippines.

- By KAP MACEDA AGUILA

Whether it was a result of unfamiliarity with the market's inner workings or just simply bad luck with some products, I leave it to those with a more direct interaction with the brand - at least through the latter - to make their conclusions.

Personally, I have driven VinFast vehicles without issue, at least for the short instances I was behind the wheel during a trip Ho Chi Minh in the middle of the year, and just recently for a media/content creator trip to Hanoi. Speaking of Vietnam, VinFast boasted recently that it set a national record there in sales - breaching 100,000 units after three quarters of 2025 - to become the first auto brand in the country to notch the feat. “The milestone follows 11 consecutive months as the nation’s bestselling carmaker, underscoring VinFast’s unchallenged leadership in the domestic automotive market,” the firm boasted in a release.

But again, even if VinFast is on a high with its performance on home soil, there is serious work to be done to establish a foothold in overseas markets an obviously huge part of its future. In light of its less-than-stellar reputational debut in the Philippines, the company’s hiring of one Antonio “Toti” Zara III is widely seen to be a step in the right direction.

“The story of VinFast goes beyond the product,” he said recently as he met with our delegation in Hanoi. “It’s about the ownership experience.”

Toti is no stranger to the industry where he has assumed various leadership positions in the past. He was last seen with ACMobility, handling new energy vehicle specialist BYD. Over the many years I’ve had a chance to interview Toti, he’s always harped on the inevitability of electrified mobility even in the Philippines - owing to a range of benefits and advantages.