HÀ NỘI — The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has granted certification of intellectual protection to two models of sedan and SUV cars produced by VinFast Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited (VinFast).

The initial term of protection is five years and can be extended four times.

This means during the total protection period of up to 25 years, other automakers will not be able to produce or distribute models with designs identical or similar to the VinFast models in the EU (European Union) market.

EUIPO is responsible for managing the EU trademark and the registered Community design. An EU trademark is valid in all 28 countries of the European Union.

VinFast has also applied for the registration of industrial designs of the two models in other countries, including the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia.

VinFast’s initiative to register for design protection in many countries is seen as an important and professional step to enter the global automobile market as well as affirm its positioning strategy as an international-level carmaker.

The two models are being developed based on the designs voted for by the Vietnamese customers in the contest, “Choosing lovely car with VinFast-1”, which took place in October last year.

Conquering the essence of Italian design and European technology, VinFast cars are manufactured on a par with international standards, ensuring passenger safety as well as quality, reliability and modern style.

In January this year, VinFast signed a contract with Italian designer Pininfarina to make model cars. The company has also co-operated with leading automakers and automobile technology consultants in the world, such as BMW, Magna Steyr, AVL, Durr AG, Schuler AG and Eisenmann, to manufacture its first products by the end of 2019.

As planned, the two models of Sedan and SUV with the VinFast trademark will take part in the Paris Motorshow in France in October this year and in Việt Nam later in December.

The European Union has 28 members, which include the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Romania, Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Belgium, Denmark, Cyprus, Portugal, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Italy, France and Spain.

The European Union is the world’s second-largest auto consumption market, after China, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the global auto market. According to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, vehicle sales in the European Union reached 15.1 million units in 2017, up 3.4 per cent from the previous year. Italy and Spain had the largest increase in sales, followed by France and Germany. — VNS