Bustling accessory market for VinFast VF 3

VinFast VF 3 is a newly launched small electric car model, and has delivered more than 100 units to Vietnamese customers, out of 20,000 units that the company plans to deliver in 2024. Although not many cars have been delivered to customers, the accessory market for this car model is gradually becoming more vibrant.

The Trong (Hanoi), a VF 3 owner, said he had added a dash cam combined with a rear camera, added decorative decals inside and outside the car, rim covers, heat-insulating film, and carpets, for a total cost of about 20 million VND. According to Trong, these accessories are not difficult to modify, because most of them are customized to the car, adding that in the near future he will add electric folding mirrors, leather seats, roof racks, and active safety systems.

Manh Linh (Hanoi), also one of the first customers to receive the car, said he had installed some basic accessories to serve his personal needs, including heat-insulating film (9 million VND), floor mats (2 million VND), dash cam with rear camera (4.5 million VND), carbon-grain leather steering wheel cover (2 million VND), LED lights (3 million VND) and roof rack (4 million VND). The total cost Linh spent on car accessories was 25 million VND, equivalent to 10% of the car's value (optional battery rental version).

"The items I added are to increase the experience and comfort when driving. Heat-insulating film to reduce heat, roof rack to increase storage space, rear camera for more safety, steering wheel cover for comfortable grip. I decided to buy a car to play with, so I want to personalize the car to my liking," Linh said.

Linh shared some accessories that were taken from other car models, then customized to fit the VF 3, because the accessory market for this car model is limited.

Assessing the market for accessories specifically for VF 3, Duc Duy (Hanoi), owner of a car decoration accessories facility, said that currently, toys specifically for VF 3 are mainly items that can be adjusted and cut to fit the car such as heat-insulating film and floor mats. Other items such as dash cams and wheel covers only need to be installed on the car, the roof rack must be mounted through the bracket, attached to the door edge because the car does not have a vertical bar, so it cannot carry heavy loads, the lights are converted to LED mounted through the original spokes of the car.

Duy said that many VF 3 users currently have a need for basic accessories for daily use. He believes that if VF 3 reaches more customers, the demand for decoration, car modification, as well as car-specific accessories will increase. Currently, with 10 million VND, customers can install heat-insulating film, floor mats, rims, and lights. His facility has modified 6 VF 3s.

Owners of car modification establishments should note that when installing accessories, car owners need to consider that if they have to connect and use the car's electrical system, it may affect the warranty. In addition, the roof rack on the VF 3 is not available, so if the modification is not done carefully, it may cause the gasket to leak, affecting the watertightness. If using a roof rack, pay attention to the load capacity (300 kg), which means that if carrying 4 people (each person weighs an average of 70 kg), the car can only carry about 20 kg of personal belongings.

According to the announcement from VinFast, in the near future, customers can buy accessories exclusively for the VF 3 small electric car, including roof racks, steering wheel covers and trims, floor mats, rear cameras, and leather seat covers. This accessory set will be officially sold on the website and genuine showrooms nationwide. The rear camera costs 1.7 million VND, the remaining accessories have not been announced in price.

The above accessories are exclusive equipment, appearing for the first time exclusively for the Vietnamese electric vehicle line, especially with VF 3 because this model has a basic design, so there is a lot of space for users to be creative and customize. Currently on VinFast's website, accessories for other electric vehicle products other than VF 3 are only floor mats, trunk mats, and heat-insulating film.

Previously, VinFast dealers said that VF 3 users can order an additional portable charger accessory from August 20, priced at VND6 million, which has the function of converting alternating current to direct current (AC-DC) to charge from a home power source. VinFast said that VF 3 charges slowly at home from 10% to 70% in 5 hours, or 60% of the 18.64 kWh battery pack. That means the home charger will have a capacity of 2.2 kWh.

VF 3 is VinFast's cheapest small electric car model, launched in the middle of this year. Currently, about 100 VF 3 cars have been delivered to customers, out of 20,000 cars that the company plans to deliver in 2024.