Designed in Australia: VinFast reveals new Ford Ranger-sized electric ute at CES, penned by ex-Holden and GM designers

Vietnam’s VinFast has revealed an electric ute that could take on the likes of BYD’s EV ute when it makes it to production.

Alongside the new electric ute, called the VF Wild in its prototype form for now, VinFast also confirmed the VF3, a small electric SUV, will be launched globally after previously being only available in Vietnam.

And while it’s currently unclear whether VinFast will launch in Australia and make the production version of either vehicle - or its many others - available, it already has a local connection through the Melbourne-based design firm it partnered with to create the VF Wild.

Gomotiv, a design studio made up of designers from the likes of Holden, GM and Ford among others, has seemingly been one of VinFast’s biggest design partnerships, and is behind the VF Wild’s styling.

While specifications of the concept are slim, the brand confirmed it measures 5324mm long, 1997mm wide, and was developed with Gomotiv over more than 8000 hours. It also features an extendable tray bed that can expand from five feet (about 152cm) to eight feet (about 244cm) long.

It’s unclear how much the design will change when the production version of the VF Wild hits the factory line, but the firm’s continued links with VinFast suggest it will have a hand in working on any changes.

In a media release published just after the new year, Gomotiv Studio Director Robert Thorpe, an ex-GM designer, said having a team of designers with experience in the industry from the ‘pre-EV’ times is highly valuable.

“There are a lot of new brands, the EV landscape is changing and the way vehicles are being developed is changing,” Thorpe said.

“But not everyone has the pool of talent in house that is needed to establish a compelling brand identity through vehicle design. 

“That’s what we do: Dive into what the brand is, where they want to go and develop a design language to match.”

VinFast previously had a presence in Australia after Holden’s shut-down when the Vietnamese brand purchased the ex-Holden proving ground at Lang Lang, though the company pulled out during late-Covid-lockdown times, and hasn’t since launched in Australia.

The company did, last year, invest several hundred million dollars in electric vehicle factories in India and Indonesia, both right-hand-drive markets, meaning Australia isn’t entirely off the cards for the future - just rather unlikely.