We had reported that Vinfast is looking to enter the electric two-wheeler market in India with some e-scooters it sells in its home country, Vietnam. The company has now filed a design patent here for a sporty-looking electric scooter that resembles the Viper it sells overseas, although there are some nuanced differences between the two.
- Design resembles that of the Viper sold overseas
- This could also be an updated version of the Viper
Like the Viper, this new Vinfast scooter shown in the patent image has angular styling and runs on chunky tyres shod on large rims, presumably 14-inchers. In fact, there are some elements on this scooter that are either remarkably close or, in some cases, even identical to the Viper. These include the tapered handlebar, mirrors, flush-mount pillion foot pegs, the angular tail section and five-spoke alloy wheel design, as well as some mechanical elements such as the hub-mounted motor and front disc brake.
However, there are some visual differences, notably to the front of the scooter. Instead of the Viper’s single-piece angular headlight, this new scooter has a twin-pod headlight setup. While its overall silhouette is similar to that of the Viper, most body panels are now more rounded than the Viper’s rather angular ones. This overarching similarity between these scooters also presents the possibility that the one featured in the design patent could be a facelifted or updated version of the Viper, although that remains to be confirmed.
While specifications for this new model are under wraps, the current-gen Viper listed on Vinfast’s Vietnamese website has a 4.8kWh battery pack, which sends power to a 3kW motor.
The company has previously stated that it is working on new India-specific electric scooters, and this could be one of them. However, it is still unknown when Vinfast will launch its first electric scooter in India.
Suraj Sreekumar
Stephen Raj Antony
