Analysis of the marketing strategy of vinfast a new but outstanding electric car brand in viet nam can final year students at ftu become potential customers for this brand

In this proposal, the main issues addressed here include: 1 the popular use of electric vehicles in Viet Nam; 2 The introduction of a new brand, as well as its marketing campaign; 3 The

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

ASSIGNMENT SUBJECT: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS Analysis of the marketing strategy of Vinfast - a new but outstanding electric car brand in Viet Nam Can final-year students at FTU become potential customers for

this brand?

NAME: 2212155130_ NGO THI LE NA (100%)

2212155145_ NGUYEN BAO NGOC (100%)

22121 NGUYEN DOAN NGOC NGAN (100%)

Examiner l”s signature Examiner 2’s signature

Invigilator 1’s signature Invigilator 2’s signature

Ho Chi Minh City, February 16th, 2023

TABLE OFCONTENT

1 Abstract

2 Introduction

3 Literature review

3.1 The demand of using electric vehicles in Viet Nam

3.2 The appearance of a new brand and its marketing strategies

3.2.1 Basic marketing information

3.2.1.1 Price strategy for new products

3.2.1.2 Price adjustment strategy

3.2.1.3 Promotion strategy

3.2.1.4 Repair strategy

3.2.2 Achievements in recent years:

3.3 The potential customers for Vinfast

4 Research question and objectives

9, Result 23

The sample regression model determined: 23 9.2.2 Estimation of confidence intervals 24

9.4.1 Is the coefficient obtained from the regression function consistent with economic theory? 26

always been a topic of interest, and we also wonder if final-year students can be a target

of the marketing strategy of the company For this reason, the proposal will bring some information and methods to find the answer to the question “ Can final-year students at FTU become potential customers for this brand?” At the end of the research, this study will highlight some expected results through several trustworthy documents regarding the issue, key elements that affect the marketing strategy, and some recommendations for VinFast

2 Introduction

VinFast is one of the most famous Vietnamese companies and their main products are

electric automobile products and internal combustion, electric motor-using cars, and eco-

friendly electric motorcycles This is also the 7th core business of Vingroup with the head office located in Hanoi and the CEO is Mr Pham Nhat Vuong It was established in 2017 and the birth of VinFast not only contributed to making the Vietnamese car dreams come true, but also opened Vingroup's era of development-based technology and knowledge and participated in promoting Vietnamese automotive industry “VinFast is a subsidiary of Vingroup, a large conglomeration of privately held corporations in Vietnam, that includes businesses in technology, industry, and services VinFast boldly stepped into the Vietnamese automotive market in 2019 as the only domestic car brand and showed that they could move quickly and decisively to produce high quality cars resulting in rapid sales and leading revenue in their respective segments It is the first Vietnamese car brand

to expand into global markets as well as the first to expand into producing EVs such as

electric cars and electric scooters.Within 21 months of launch, and with an investment of

nearly $3.5 billion USD, they were producing several models of e-scooters, buses, and automobile models —including the ultra-high luxury President2— in their fully- automated modern manufacturing facility boasting capacity to build 250,000 vehicles a year In early 2021, VinFast executives announced their vision of becoming a global

leader in the EV market, introduced EV models, and started their international expansion

plans.”

President, in which Vinfast's largest internal market share is Vinfast Fadil In 2021, Vinfast also launched 3 lines of electric cars: VF31, VF32, VF33 So we can see that this

is a vital milestone that affirms VinFast’s vision of becoming a new global electric automotive brand and bringing Vietnam to a new position on the world automotive industry map

In this proposal, the main issues addressed here include: (1) the popular use of electric vehicles in Viet Nam; (2) The introduction of a new brand, as well as its marketing campaign; (3) The prospective customers for Vinfast; (4) Methodology of the research; (5) Expected results and (6) Recommendations

3 Literature review

3.1 The demand of using electric vehicles in Viet Nam

People's knowledge of global warming has been quickly increasing in modern society Vehicles that don't release harmful pollutants to the environment are a fantastic fit for alternative sources of energy The People's Republic of China and the United States of America are the leading countries in terms of vehicle sales, while Vietnam and Singapore are the leading vehicle markets in terms of growth, with growth rates of 27.1% and 48.2%, respectively, in 2015-2016 This is according to a JATO Dynamics Ltd survey that

looked at the number of tourist vehicles, pickup trucks, and commercial vehicles sold

among automobile markets worldwide

The data from the Vietnam Registry stated that the number of electric vehicle registrations

in our country in the three years of 2019, 2020 and 2021 has prospered In 2019, the

number of registered electric vehicles is 190 vehicles, in 2020 it will increase to 900 vehicles and in 2021 it will be more than 1000 vehicles, it will be shown in the next table

Years The number of registered electric vehicles

2021 More than 1000 vehicles

The statistics above show that the number of vehicles sold in the Vietnamese automobile market is not particularly large, but the Vietnamese automobile market has experienced rapid growth in recent years The vehicle market in Vietnam has enormous potential for growth

3.2 The appearance of a new brand and its marketing strategies

3.2.1 Basic marketing information

-Vinfast Fadil: the first product from Vinfast, first introduced to customers on 20/11/2018

at Thong Nhat Park, Ha Noi

- Vinfast LUX: we have 2 versions for this brand including SUV (Vinfast LUX SA2.0) va Sedan (Vinfast LUX A2.0)

- Vinfast LUX V8: Introduced in 2020

-Brand name: Vinfast VinFast is abbreviated from extremely meaningful words In Vietnam, it is “Viét Nam, Phong cach, An toan, Sang tạo và Tiên phong”

The VinFast brand name expresses the aspiration of industrialization and modernization, the desire to pioneer the development of the automobile manufacturing industry in Vietnam, and national pride The logo is inspired by the "V" symbol, using delicate, luxurious and classy silver tones to create a stylish and fashionable car company The letter "V" represents Vietnam, Vingroup, VinFast, and the symbol "V" is also a victory The color of the logo is trusted by many famous car brands in the world, demonstrating

the level of the Vietnamese car brand

- Product feature: VinFast Fadil is a small car powered by a 4-cylinder petrol engine with a maximum capacity of 98 horsepower and 128 Nm It also has a CVT gearbox and a 6.2L V8 engine with a capacity of 445 horsepower and maximum torque of 624 Nm VinFast Lux SA2.0 has a 2.0L turbocharged gasoline engine with 228 horsepower and

350 Nm Transmission: ZF 8-speed automatic transmission Powertrain: Rear-wheel drive, AWD 4-wheel drive (premium version) Ground clearance 192 mm

- Product design: Exterior design has many colors for customers to choose, Fadil series

has 6 colors (red, blue, gray, silver, orange, white) and Vinfast Lux has 8 luxurious colors (Mystique Red, Luxury Blue, Desat Silver, Action Orange, Jet Black, Cormorant Brown,

Brahminy White and Neptune CL) The body is sturdy, true to Europe, the sound of closing the door firmly and entering the interior compartment does not have an unpleasant smell like popular cars The bonnet of this new model is elongated with sporty embossed ribs quite similar to BMW's 5-Series cars The bonnet is elongated with sporty embossed ribs, and the LED bulbs connected to daytime positioning lights bring something new Next to the letter "V" are 2 lines using LED bulbs connected to daytime positioning lights This different design of VinFast LUX A2.0 really brings something new

3.2.1.1 Price strategy for new products

Vinfast, as a new car manufacturer, does not appear to be targeting the low-cost car market, even positioning the brand at a slightly higher price point than product lines belonging to Japanese and Japanese brands Korean automakers such as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia In the first stage, VinFast decided to implement strong consumer support policies, including a "3 No" price policy VinFast will not charge depreciation, financial costs (interest payable on loans used to build plants, working capital, etc.), or interest The selling price will be equal to the product's production cost plus selling expenses VinFast wishes to provide customers with the opportunity to experience world- class Vietnamese products by adopting a "3 No” pricing policy that accepts no profit 3.2.1.2 Price adjustment strategy

After maintaining the price of "3 No plus incentives” (from January | to August 31, 2019), from September 1, the selling price of VinFast Lux SA 2.0 cars will increase by

532 million VND, from 1,286 billion VND now up to 1,818 billion dong; Lux A 2.0

million, from the current 359 million to 423 million (price excludes VAT) In September

2019, the price list of VinFast cars, including Lux SA 2.0, Lux A 2.0, and Fadil models,

no longer includes incentives and returns to the official selling price, so the car's price will rise dramatically However, VinFast decided to extend the preferential period for its car

models at the last minute From February 12, 2020, VinFast continues to increase car

prices according to the policy of 3 without incentives, specifically VinFast Fadil cars

increase by 20 million, VinFast Lux A2.0 increase by 30 million, VinFast Lux SA2.0

increase by 50 million per version Keeping true to its commitment to customers, VinFast decided to adjust the selling price of the product, on the principle of maintaining the "3 No” policy, only gradually reducing the bonus plus

VinFast VF 5 Plus with bin: 538 million VND

VinFast Fadil Advanced version (Plus): 383,100,000 VND

VinFast Fadil Premium version: 419.100.000 VND

Promotion and direct marketing

Automobiles are considered a luxury item in Vietnam, and the Vinfast brand has yet to enter the Vietnamese market As a result, Vinfast promotes numerous promotions for car buyers, such as vinfast no interest for the first two years for customers who purchase a

VinFast Fadil cars between November 15, 2019 and February 15, 2020 will only need to

pay 30% of the car's value in advance, with the remaining 70% being paid Payment in installments over a 5-year period Customers can also receive interesting gifts fromVinfast

by participating in the program "Test drive VinFast Lux - Experience class."

3.2.1.4 Repair strategy

From January 6, 2022, VinFast pioneered to deploy the first genuine mobile repair service

(Mobile Service) in Vietnam As a result, a team of technicians will perform maintenance,

repair, and replacement of spare parts with simple items at the location specified by the customer, without the use of a vehicle lift This service first appeared in Vietnam to help improve the customer experience

3.2.2 Achievements in recent years:

Vinfast made its first appearance at the Paris Motor Show one year after its debut This is one of Vinfast's major milestones in bringing the Vietnamese car brand abroad and attracting the attention of Vietnamese auto enthusiasts One of the important goals that VinFast aimed to achieve was to export in order to expand the market and generate profits

on a larger scale, thereby contributing to the company's economic pressures VinFast's export targets include massive markets such as Europe, China, and ASEAN Since August

2018, VinFast has been quietly establishing subsidiaries and representative offices in

Germany, China, and Korea

3.3 The potential customers for Vinfast

A recent research by Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh about the marketing-mix strategy for Vinfast has shown that Vinfast manufactures and sells cars not only in the domestic market but also wishes to expand internationally, bringing Vietnamese brands to new

markets As a result, a large customer base both at home and abroad serves as an

economic foundation for Vinfast's auto industry Vinfast positions itself as a high-end car

line, targeting both domestic and foreign customers, implying that its target market is wealthy people In the study, she did not mention the specific customer that Vinfast is targeting, as well as the student object Final-year students may be the object that does not suitable for such a luxury car brand like Vinfast, but through researching the marketing strategy, it is clear that this company usually changes to fit the demand of customers, and

we can believe that with the improvement of the product, Vinfast electric car may soon attend the mass market

4 Research question and objectives

+ Some analysis of the marketing strategies in the industry of electric cars

+ Highlight some expected results through several trustworthy documents regarding the issue

+ Determine key elements that affect the marketing strategy, and some recommendations for VinFast

+ Offers a look at the elements that led to VinFast's success in the Vietnamese auto market in recent years

5 Theoretical basis

FTU-Foreign Trade University-one of the most prestigious universities in Viet Nam

Students at FTU are famous for their dynamism, creativity, and difference Almost all

students have had a job before graduating from this university, another fact is that they often have good salaries and promotion opportunities Besides, because of living in modern life and having opportunities to access the Internet and interact with people from all over the world, they have awareness of common human problems One of the biggest

issues that humans have to deal with nowadays are environmental pollution and running out of fossil fuel As a result, green energy may become a trend in the future

It is said that a prospect is a name given to a company's potential customer It is a person who has expressed an interest in the company's services and products but has not yet purchased them In this case, we can test the purchase intention of the final-year students

to consider if they can be potential buyers of Vinfast cars

In the research, we will apply three theories that will be mentioned below:

- Theory of Reasoned Action - TRA: The TRA model is a predictive model of the intention to buy (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975) including two main elements in the model, namely Attitude towards behavior and Subjective Norms to influence affect the

Behavioral Intent, which leads to the final act However (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975) the assessment is still limited to the TRA model, which assumes that behavior is determined

based on the intention to perform that behavior So this theory only applies to pre- intentioned behavior

- Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) According to (Ajzen, 1991), this concept is inherited and developed from the concept of TRA - Theory of Reasoned Action of (Ajzen

& Fishbein, 1975) The TPB model was created to overcome the limitation of the previous

theory that human behavior is controlled by reason and is considered to be a more optimal model than the TRA model Perceived behavioral control is expressed in terms of how easy or difficult it is to perform a particular behavior or whether or not the performance of the behavior is restricted (Ajzen, 1991)

- Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) According to (Davis, 1986), the technology acceptance model (TAM) is said to be derived from the theory of rational action (TRA), which is related to the problem of predicting the ability to accept a new technology The technology acceptance model is defined by two factors: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use Electric motorcycles are the product of “green” technology development, so it makes perfect sense to use the TAM technology acceptance model to explain the intention to adopt a “green” technology

6 Hypothesis and research model

Base on three theories before, which are Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned

Behaviour, Technology Acceptance Model, we have built four Hypotheses about the relationship between final-year students at FTU and the ability that they become potential buyers of Vinfast (their intention to purchase electric cars) and the relevant elements:

- Hypothesis 1: Environmental awareness has a positive effect on the purchase intention

of final-year students at FTU

According to the research of (Yi-Chang & Gwo-Hshiung, 1999) Environmental awareness is related to the perception of environmental pollution, knowledge of the environment and energy saving on the behavior of people, so that this may be a suitable element to test

- Hypothesis 2: Attitude has a positive effect on the purchase motivation of students in their senior year at FTU

A consumer's positive or negative attitude is a person's evaluation of the outcome of that

behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975) In TRA and TPB theory, it has also been shown that

Attitude is a particularly important factor that directly affects intentional behavior and it is completely verified through many different research papers Therefore, attitude can be an element that should be mentioned

- Hypothesis 3: The attraction of Vinfast’s electric cars has a positive effect on the purchase willingness of final-year students at FTU

The attraction of electric vehicles comes from its benefit to the environment, reasonable price, version, color, advertising, free repair time, design), which are also called visual

merchandising techniques According to the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model, two factors define the technology acceptance model: perceived usefulness and perceived ease

of use Electric motorcycles are the result of "green" technology development, so using the TAM technology acceptance model to explain the intention to adopt a "green" technology makes perfect sense

-Hypothesis 4: Customer’s loyalty has a positive effect on the buying motivation of last- year students at FTU

A Study of Local Taxi Companies in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Mai Ngoc Khuong and Ngo Quang Dai states that the antecedent of customer loyalty is customer satisfaction, but how to create buyer satisfaction? The technology acceptance model is defined by two factors: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use In other words, helping customers to experience the products before purchasing can be a way to increase their belief, as well as their loyalty From those four hypotheses, we introduce the

some proceed proposal about VinFast, or VinFast's official website, research articles, books, etc), consultation with economic experts, and Vinfast's internal data

7.1.2 Type of research

An exploratory research is a research whose primary purpose is to examine a little understood issue or phenomenon and to develop preliminary ideas about it and move toward refined research questions (Newman, 2014, p 38) The reason why this proposal

is considered exploratory research is its main purpose is to analyze VinFast’s marketing campaign and to test the feasibility of turning final year students into potential customers for VinFast's electric cars So using exploratory types of research can help us answer the questions written at the beginning of this proposal and reach the research objectives 7.1.3 Survey Development

For data collection, we tend to use an online survey with only closed-ended questions Based on the literature review, all of the questions will be carefully selected and evaluated to be able to measure with the most accurate results

A detailed questionnaire will cover visual merchandising techniques, with 35-40 questions and 15-20 minutes for respondents to answer The survey may be conducted within 2 weeks and on online platforms such as Google Form

The survey will use a 5-point likert scale (with 5-point likert scale from strongly disagree (=1) to strongly agree (=5)) to determine who best characterizes their thoughts

or perspectives Primary data will be gathered for data collection, while secondary data may be used to find suggestions for questions

7.1.4 Sampling method

We will choose randomly a sample of approximately around 400-500 final year FTU students First, we can use systematic sampling by posting the form on some social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Zalo, ; especially Facebook groups which include almost all FTU final year students Secondly, we always consider convenience sampling, we will send the form or the questionnaire to our acquaintances

at FTU and ask them to help us share the form to their friends Finally, to ensure the representativeness of the sample chosen and to send thanks to the one who completed

the form, we will give them some useful data or documents at the end of the form

In this study, we want to test the four hypotheses that have been mentioned above, so the Likert scale may be best suitable as we need to collect respondents’ attitudes and opinions We use this psychometric scale to understand the views and perspectives towards a brand (Vinfast) The Likert scale assumes that the experlence's strength and intensity are linear Assuming that attitudes can be measured, it thus progresses from complete agreement to complete disagreement

(+) Positive

(-) Negative

(Fleetwood, Likert scale: Definition, examples & how to use it 2023)

Specifically, the research scale will be demonstrated in the next table

Environmental | EA1: The threat from environmental pollution (Yi-Chang &

Awareness and air pollution is becoming more and more Gwo-

EA2: Environmental protection is the shared (Trang, 2018) responsibility of each individual (Dung, 2012) EA3: Using a lot of traditional motorbikes (Thogersen,

increases environmental pollution in 1999)

Ho Chi Minh City

EA4: I will use a green electric car because I

have a habit of using environmentally friendly

Attitude AI: T think Vinfast electric motorbikes are

environmentally friendly

A2: Vinfast electric motorbike has a stylish and

modern design

A3: I support the country to come up with many

policies to encourage people to buy electric cars

AA: | think Vinfast electric motorbikes are easier

to use than other electric motorbikes

(Thoa, 2017), (Trang, 2018)

(Huang & Ge,

2019), (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975), (Tra, 2019)

AOV2: The price of an electric car is higher than

a traditional car but it can be acceptable

AOV3: The easy use of electric cars impresses

(Thoa, 2017), (Trang, 2018)

(Huang & Ge,

2019), (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975),

PI2: I intend to buy Vinfast electric motorbikes in | Ge, 2019),

PI3: I will recommend Vinfast electric

motorbikes to friends and relatives if they have

(Ajzen, 2002)

7.3 Data analysis

We use four independent variables (environmental awareness, attitude, attraction of

VinFast’s car, customer’s loyalty), which are also called merchandising techniques and the dependent variable is FTU’s final year students' purchasing decisions

Because likert scale is a continuous scale, reliability test, factor analysis, correlation and

stepwise linear regression will be considered to run on the data for the study using SPSS

In addition, we research synthetic panel data that can be seen from part | of the Literature Review

8 Data

8.1 Descriptive statistics and determine the model regression

8.1.1 Model

We used a panel database to identify whether some elements such as: Environmental

Awareness, Attitude, The attraction of Vinfast’s electric cars, Customer’s loyalty and

Purchase intention have an influence on the purchasing inventions of students at FTU

To analyze the factors affecting the intention to buy VinFast electric cars of students at Foreign Trade University, we use a linear regression model:

O Population Regression Model

yd= 0+ I.env +2.vin +3.hd + 4.tt +u

O Sample Regression Model

yd= 0 + l.env + 2.vin +3hd+4.tt

8.1.2 Explain the variables and their influence on the dependent

variable

a Dependent variable

O_ yd: The intention to buy a Vinfast electric car of Foreign Trade University

O The intention to buy a Vinfast electric car depends on many factors

In particular, there will be important factors that determine someone's intention to buy an electric car We have discussed and given 4 important factors affecting this: environmental awareness, attitudes

about Vinfast electric cars, attractiveness of Vinfast electric cars and

loyalty to Vinfast electric cars

b Independent variables

Ol env: The environmental awareness of students at Foreign Trade University

O According to the studies of Yi-Chang & Gwo-Hshiung (1999), Trang (2018), Dung (2012), Thogersen (1999), we find that environmental awareness has an influence on the intention to buy an electric car and this relationship is directly proportional to each other It means that the higher the awareness of environmental protection, the higher the intention to buy an electric car and vice versa

O vin: Attitudes of Foreign Trade University students towards Vinfast electric cars

O Attitude towards Vinfast electric cars is also an important factor affecting the intention to buy a car The fact that buyers have a good attitude and evaluation towards Vinfast electric cars will also increase their intention to buy a car This has been tested in the studies of Huang & Ge (2019), Ajzen & Fishbein (1975)

O hd: The attraction of Vinfast electric cars to students of Foreign Trade University

O Currently, consumers are very interested in the design, price and usage of vehicles If Vinfast electric cars can meet those

requirements well, it will increase the attraction of Vinfast electric cars to consumers Therefore, the attraction of Vinfast electric cars

will also affect the intention to buy electric cars The higher the