Enlarge / If our comments are anything to go by, there is a huge demand out there for a small, cheap EV. Well, this is a small, cheap EV from VinFast. (credit: VinFast)

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas isn’t just about AI infotainment add-ons and concept cars—sometimes automakers actually debut new production models, too. Yesterday, we heard from VinFast, which used CES 2024 as the global debut for its new electric vehicle, the VF3.

If the VinFast name is unfamiliar, that’s understandable—the Vietnamese automaker was founded in 2017 and only brought its first car to these shores last year. That was the very underwhelming VF8, a midsize crossover EV that wasn’t fully baked by the time a bunch of journalists, Ars included, got to drive it.

VinFast launched the VF8 into one of the most competitive market segments, up against cars like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4—all of which we (and most other auto journalists) would recommend first.