RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
BRANFORD, CT – Temporary banners on the exterior of the auto dealership at 150 North Main St. will soon be replaced by more permanent signage, but Premier Vinfast is already selling new EV models that are made in Vietnam.
The store quietly launched in late December. When RIDE-CT visited this week more than 20 new cars were on display on the lot and in the showroom.
Not only is Premier Vinfast the first and only Vinfast dealer in Connecticut, it’s also the only one in New England. The brand launched in 2017 and only began selling cars in the United States in early 2023, primarily on the West Coast.
“About five years ago I made the decision to jump into an EV so I could truly understand our customers’ journey from a ICE motor through hybrid into the EV,” said Premier Vinfast owner Bob Alvine in explaining why he latched on to an electric brand.
“I’ve always liked EVs. It’s like driving a cell phone that updates, with wheels, and so I got into it about five years ago and I haven’t driven a ICE car since.”
Alvine then listed what he perceives as the advantages of EVs over models using an internal combustion engine.
“The car’s always updated, right? If you get into an ICE car, there’s not updates they can do to the vehicle for operational (reasons), for drivability, for any of those things, but they can do constant updates to an EV so you’re always kind of in a newer vehicle.
“Obviously saving gas is a huge thing. People talk about the environmental issue, but I just like the way they accelerate, they way they handle, the way they drive. I think they’re just fun to drive.”
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Check out RIDE-CT’s video on Premier Vinfast on YouTube…
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Launching a fresh car brand comes with challenges, including bugs in the form of quality issues and lack of consumer awareness. It was true in the late 1950s and into the 1960s when Toyota and Nissan (then known as Datsun) came to the states from Japan, and again in the 1980s and 1990s when Hyundai and Kia arrived from Korea.
“We’ve seen that over the years and I’ll tell you, Vinfast has been around since 2017. They originally did ICE engines and then abandoned it in 2019 and went full electric,” said Alvine.
“I think the difference is just the sheer amount of the resources and the investment compared to those companies years ago. The Japanese when they came to this country, the Koreans when they came to this country didn’t have nearly the investment behind the products as this company has right now with these cars.
“They really have pulled the best of engineering, the best of drive train, the best of how they do it – battery technology – and they have put it together so I have a lot less fear about them.”
Alvine described the challenges as being “the fun part” of his business, and is excited about showing off the technology offered by Vinfast to potential buyers.
“If I put a sticker over the little ‘V’ on the steering wheel, they wouldn’t have any idea they’re driving a brand new offering to the United States, so it’s fun to talk to the early adopters. It’s fun to talk to people who are like ‘This is just really cool,” and so I find it fun. Sure, the challenges are people say ‘What is that?’ every time you mention the car, but we’ll overcome that,” he said.
Vinfast currently offers two large SUV models – the VF8 and VF9 – but has smaller (VF6 and VF7) models due later in the year. The sticker price of the VF8 begins at about $47,000 and has a range of 256 miles on a full. The VF9 begins at about $70,000 and has a range of 330 miles.
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Premier Vinfast is entering the EV market at both an opportune and inopportune time.
On the upside, dominant EV player Tesla is getting consumer blowback and seeing its sales crater because of CEO Elon Musk’s dismantling of the federal government after being appointed head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) by President Donald Trump.
Tesla “made up their sales based on a very loyal customer base to them; a like-minded loyal customer base, and Musk’s involvement in the political scene has jeopardized that very customer base that brought them to where they are today,” said Alvine.
“And those customers are looking for a hum, they’re looking for a car, they’re looking for an opportunity to like something again, so we are seeing people come out of (Tesla) Model 3s or Ys or whatever they might be and look at this Vinfast brand as an up and comer.”
On the flip side, another Trump move – tariffs on foreign products and goods – are driving up the cost of new vehicles. “Vinfast being new to the market is going to absorb those tariffs. They realize that the affordability is key to getting the adoption to the brand,” Alvine said.
Regardless of the current automotive landscape, Alvine views Vinfast as a long-term project that has upside potential. “I have a lot of confidence in them which is why I put our name to that,” he said.
(Photos by Bud Wilkinson.)
