Vietnamese carmaker VinFast has announced its acquisition of the GM Holden Lang Lang Testing Centre in Australia, as part of its efforts to expand internationally.

The purchase centre follows a deal inked between VinFast, a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, and GM Holden on Wednesday, Vingroup said a press release the same day, without giving the value of the deal.

Lang Lang is one of GM Holden’s oldest and most modern vehicle testing centres in the world. The 872ha centre has a 44km long test road system, a four-lane high-speed road area, a 5.5km handling test track, a 100m diameter slip pan and roads. It also comprises an emissions laboratory which meets the strictest standards of a world-class testing centre.

The purchase of the testing centre in Victoria followed the launch of VinFast's Automotive Technology Institute 2 and its office in Melbourne, Australia, aiming to research and develop new car models to compete in the global automobile market in the near future.

Kevin Yardley, head of VinFast's Automotive Technology Institute 2, said having a modern testing centre like Lang Lang would better facilitate VinFast's research and development.

The centre will start to test new VinFast products after the final handover procedures between the two sides are completed. — VNS