A brief history of the first Vietnamese cars

Hello CTzens, you may have read this post of Matt Kimberly about the Vinfasts. What if I tell you that they are not the first Vietnamese car? Here are some models that are produced in XX century by Vietnamese.

Citroen La Dalat

The Citroen La Dalat was made by Cong ty Xe hoi Saigon ( Saigon Automobile company), a subsidiary of Citroen in South Vietnam. It was based on the simple, quirky 2CV but it is even simpler. The body panels are corrugated iron, there was no need for complex casting or machining. Other parts are simple and can be made by small shops except the major parts such as the engine. It used a flat twin engine just like the 2CV. There were 4 different body styles. Citroen produced more than 5000 units from 1970 to 1975, which is a huge success.

Xe hoi Chien Thang ( The Winning)
In 1958, Chien Thang (winning) factory decided to make a car, based on the French Fragate. Unlike the La Dalat, it was really hard to make the parts , since most of the steel came form scrapyard. Even the propeller shaft was based on the train shaft ( what is the name?), which took 2 weeks to complete. The electric equipment, tires, glasses and instrument were imported . Artist Diep Minh Chau even helped to design the exterior and interior. The car was born on 21/12/1958. Even Ho Chi MInh came and motivated them.

So, this is a brief history about the first Vietnamese cars. Now, let’s hope that Vinfast will made an ICE - powered sport car soon.

a random sleeper