VinFast’s “Mighty Spirit of Vietnam” campaign evokes the image of how the people of South Korea and Japan once came together to create a world-class national car brand. According to experts, now more than ever, in the fiercely competitive market, the Vietnamese people need to harness their national pride to inspire and drive domestic enterprises like VinFast to succeed on the global stage.
“Transforming from love of country and individual responsibility”
Over 60 years ago, South Korea was an unknown name in the global automobile industry. The East Asian country was only recognized for hanbok, textile manufacturing, and a few car companies attempting to replicate the famous Jeep model.
When the South Korean auto industry began to thrive, the world did not have much faith in the late-blooming country, which lagged behind the American and European giants by a hundred years. However, from 1962, South Korea’s rise has been described as a “miracle” by many scholars. Hyundai was established and then Pony – the first car produced by Koreans themselves. Over decades of effort, South Korea’s auto industry rose to become one of the top 5 in the world.
However, this miracle did not happen overnight. The Korean auto industry received significant support from the government with policies referred to as “reverse thinking,” which focused all resources on domestic corporations.
Building a national brand requires the united effort of the domestic population
Even more importantly was the spirit of millions of South Korean citizens from the beginning. As confirmed by a leader from the Korean Ministry of Culture, “We view buying products made by our own people as the best way to express our love for the country, our citizen responsibility, and the best way to rise to self-sufficiency.”
That is also the story told by Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Institute of Economics of Vietnam, when discussing the success of the Korean and Japanese auto industries. According to him, the people of these countries have united in supporting domestic cars from the early days, even though it was clear that the initial models could not compare to international brands due to technological and manufacturing limitations.
“The collaboration and support of the entire population with domestic startups have become a powerful motive to propel the auto industry of these countries onto the global stage,” Dr. Tran Dinh Thien summed up the key to the success of South Korea and Japan.
Uniting for a world-class Vietnamese brand
Looking at the lessons from South Korea’s auto industry, many experts and Vietnamese consumers believe that user support is a crucial element in developing a world-class national brand, with VinFast as the pioneering name.
A brand development expert working in Ho Chi Minh City points out the reality that it is difficult for any individual business like VinFast to build a world-class national brand. “No matter how strong VinFast is financially, it cannot succeed without the support of domestic consumers,” he says.
With the new policies in the “Mighty Spirit of Vietnam” campaign, Vietnamese customers have the opportunity to easily own electric cars
This is the reason why he expresses solidarity with VinFast after the recent launch of the “Mighty Spirit of Vietnam” campaign. In addition to practical financial solutions that make it easy for customers to own electric cars, he supports the call for everyone to join hands in building a successful Vietnamese brand that achieves world-class status – a desire that Vietnam has been unable to realize for many years.
Many people share the same sentiment as VinFast. Posting on his personal page after learning about the “Mighty Spirit of Vietnam” campaign, a VinFast car owner named Tran Phan Anh shares that apart from factors such as price and cost, his thinking is to contribute to supporting the domestic industry.
Customers who own VinFast electric cars are always proud and satisfied with their choice
In terms of benefits, he believes that choosing electric cars is good for the environment for future generations. “My children will live in an environment with less noise pollution and cleaner air,” he hopes.
From an economic perspective, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien believes that the benefits will not be limited to VinFast or any specific business, but rather “anything related to the words ‘Vietnam’ and ‘Made in Vietnam'” and especially the “Made in Vietnam” products on the international market.
“Building a Vietnamese brand means creating reputation and advantages, creating conditions for Vietnamese goods to easily reach the world, helping to generate national value, and beyond that, increasing national pride,” Dr. Thien says.
According to Dr. Thien, to achieve that goal, the Vietnamese people must start with small actions. “Each individual must start with specific actions such as choosing green transportation, thereby creating a broad impact on society,” Dr. Tran Dinh Thien calls for.
On March 1st, VinFast officially launched the second phase of the “Mighty Spirit of Vietnam” campaign. Customers who purchased one of the first 3 gasoline car lines will receive a gratitude package worth 5 million VND for Lux owners and 3 million VND for Fadil owners, valid for 3 years, and an immediate 5% discount on any VinFast electric car purchase.
In addition, VinFast will apply the preferential support policy of “3 best” for all customers: The longest loan term – up to 8 years; The highest loan value – up to 70% of the car price; The most attractive interest rate – only 5% for the first 2 years, 8% for the following 3 years, and 9.5% for the next 3 years. VinFast will support all interest rate support costs and arising risks during the 8-year period, including any differences if the floating interest rate of the bank exceeds the above rates.
