Vinfast, a subsidiary of multi-trillion-dong Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, unveiled its first two passenger vehicles to large crowds of curious journalists at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday.

Alongside the obvious no-shows at this year's Mondial de l'Automobile, this relatively new entrant to the world of car manufacturing revealed an SUV and a saloon in what is thought to be a long line of planned machines including a range of electric cars, buses and scooters.

The LUX A2.0 Sedan and the LUX SA2.0 SUV are described Italian-designed, with European technology and "Vietnamese spirit". They are understood to have been developed following an unusual nationwide poll of 62,000 people in Vietnam, in which participants chose their favourite design from a range of sketches. The results are sleek, modern, and clearly people-pleasers.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, the chairwoman of VinFast, stated that these cars "represent our intention for VinFast to be a successful automotive brand both in Vietnam and internationally.

"With our ambitious plans to bring these two vehicles to market in such a short time, it was crucial for us to make a big entrance and an immediate impact, and we certainly did that today,” she added.