VinFast Whistleblower Alleges Structural Flaws 'Could Cause Wheels To Come Off,' Gets Fired

• Hazar Denli worked for Tata Technologies, a consulting firm that did much of the chassis engineering work on Vinfast's VF6, VF7, VF8 and VF9 models.
• Denli claims he was fired and blacklisted after posting Reddit thread expressing serious safety concerns about VinFast's products.
• Denli claimed that VinFast's suspension components were inadequate and prone to failure.

It’s an accepted fact that VinFast’s cars aren’t very good. The brand has been plagued with missed delivery dates, poor reviews, low sales and an alarming allegation that it has police detain critics of its products in its home country. Now things are going further. Last week, an engineer responsible for VinFast’s latest models claimed he was fired after an ask me anything thread on Reddit. The engineer, Hazar Denli, became really concerned about the quality of the suspension components on its models.

According to reporting from the BBC, Denli became concerned with VinFast’s approach to speed and deadlines, insisting that the brand was cutting corners with its product, particularly with development on the VF6 and VF7 crossovers that have been slowly making their way out of Vietnam, and into new markets. For instance, Denli said that parts wore out five times as quickly during validation testing as they should have; some parts only lasted as little at 15,000 miles when they should have gone for 95,000 miles. Troublingly, Denli said this premature wear could lead to a loss of control of the vehicles.

"We saw, for example, the front strut-to-knuckle connection was loosening, which could be extremely dangerous," Denli told the BBC. "It could cause a loosening of the entire structure that could cause wheels to come off.

Denli says that JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) conspired with its parent group Tata Group, alongside VinFast, who figured out who made the Reddit thread. When Denli was identified, he was subsequently terminated and his name was blacklisted in an industry recruiting software, the BBC says. Keep in mind that VinFast’s IPO paperwork revealed that Tata Technologies (part of Tata Group) did much of the chassis engineering for all of VinFast’s models, except for the VF3 and VF5.

This is very concerning, and adds onto existing problems for the automaker. An accident involving a VinFast VF8 is already under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On, April 24, 2024 a VF8 struck a tree, and caught fire, killing the family of four inside. Denli’s claims track with the previous reporting we’ve done at InsideEVs. Earlier this year, we reported on Sonnie Tran, a Vietnamese blogger who was critical of Vinfast’s products in his home country. Tran alleged that VinFast used the police to harass him, even arresting him and threatening jail time if he didn’t take his criticism down.

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Right now, VinFast has delivered on its promise to produce the VF3 through VF9, at least in Vietnam. All of these models are on sale, and the brand plans to export them to new markets. Just a few weeks ago one of the alleged vehicles of concern, the VinFast VF6, was officially put on sale in a handful European countries. VinFast still plans to sell these cars in the U.S. by 2026. 

We will be watching with interest and concern as to how this will play out. The Vinfast VF8 has 28 complaints according to the NHTSA. Denli is trying to hold JLR to an employment tribunal, claiming he had done nothing wrong. 

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com.

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Top comments

ElectricCarsNotElectricSUVs 5 months ago

Sucks, but this is what happens to basically a group of auto manufacturers trying to fight an uphill battle against China, who are sitting on most of the world's lithium, and are eager and extremely capable of now producing their own vehicles, to the point it's threatening historic Japanese dominance on East Asian and Southeast Asian roads. No wonder VinFast are rushing for volume, as NA, Europe and Japan tremble in fear and lock up in paralysis.

Charging and other EV infrastructure is still sparse especially outside of China - there's no impetus to move away from fossil fuels, even if they had no concerns about the climate (like the US for instance, a nation often stereotyped for its pathological dependence on fossil fuels).

I wish the best for the whistleblowers and VinFast critics though. They need to be listened to.

Troy Savary 5 months ago

The largest lithium producing country is Australia, second is Chile. The US has plentiful untapped lithium supply. Nobody is trembling over garbage Chinese cars.

Gooki 5 months ago

From what I'm seeing Vinfast is where the Chinese manufacturers were a decade and a half ago. Going through the tough learning curve of how to engineer vehicles.

Fields Carlisle 5 months ago

This company just gets more and more terrible with every story I hear. Their NC assembly plant has been paused for over a year. It will likely never even be completed. Nobody is buying their cars.

John George Bauer-Buis 5 months ago

It’s honestly quite sad, because they could have become a contender. The way they are going, they’ll end up somebody’s breakfast instead.

Solarman2 5 months ago

The engineer, Hazar Denli, became really concerned about the quality of the suspension components on its models.

Internal strife within a company is the pathway to implosion. The World has been privy to the past BEV failures of Lordstown, Fisker (twice) and others seem precariously perched on the edge of the abyss. I'd say from the "unsubstantial" narratives about VinFast is a 'tell' of a nominal product at best and with all the specifications, claims and apparently money backing VinFast, it too is right on the tippy-toe edge of the abyss. Consumer take away, forget VinFast, buy a Genesis EV.

Denli is trying to hold JLR to an employment tribunal, claiming he had done nothing wrong.

My take away is the World at large doesn't have "whistle blower" 'laws' for those who are concerned about what is launched out the factory door as a product like the U.S. has. Companies have an upper management tendency to reject and deny foibles along the manufacturing line, until the product starts maiming or killing consumers, then management becomes "defensive reactive", instead of taking an adult "responsible proactive" stance inthe first place.

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