HANOI, Aug 28 — Visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today test drove a model of VinFast, a car manufactured by Vietnam.

He test drove the sports utility vehicle (SUV) LUX SA (A) 2.0 model for about 10 minutes during a visit to the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park.

The prime minister was accompanied by Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and VinFast technician Nguyen Anh Hieu.

The LUX SA (A) 2.0 SUV costs 1.4 billion Dong (about RM249,000) and is expected to go on sale in Vietnam this year.

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It is equipped with a DOHC 2.0L turbo-charged four-cylinder engine with 228 hp and maximum torque of 350 Nm.

Dr Mahathir, who is on a three-day official visit to Vietnam beginning Monday, was shown two models of the car, Fadil and VinFast Sedan LUX 2.0. 

VinFast, the Vietnamese car manufacturer, is a subsidiary of the Vingroup conglomerate.

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The VinFast assembly plant was set up in 2017. It launched its first model, Fadil, last year.

Dr Mahathir also visited FPT Software, a global IT services and outsourcing company also located at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park. — Bernama