NHA TRANG, Vietnam and TAMPA, Fla., July 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — VinFast, the world’s first automotive manufacturer to completely switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and IRONMAN, the global leader in long distance triathlon, have announced a global partnership for VinFast to become the first ever naming rights partner of the IRONMAN U.S. Series from 2022. Under the agreement, VinFast will also become the title partner for the 2022 IRONMAN® World Championship and the 2023 IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship, each continuing through 2025, as well as the Exclusive Electric Vehicle Partner of the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Series in U.S., Europe, and Asia through 2025.
Moreover, VinFast will be the Exclusive Automotive Vehicle, Electric Vehicle, Electric Scooter, and Electric Bus partner, providing electric vehicles, including scooters, cars, and buses for IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events.
As Naming Rights partner for the VinFast IRONMAN U.S. Series, Title partner of the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship, and a Premier Partner, VinFast will be provided with highly visible brand association at IRONMAN events around the globe. It will provide unique direct to consumer experiences onsite at IRONMAN races with opportunities for participants and fans to experience a next generation EV car through test drives and other experiential programming.
The signing ceremony for the partnership was held on July 23, 2022 in Nha Trang, during the Vingroup Elite Vietnam Tour 3, and witnessed by many world-renowned media personalities and industry opinion leaders from North America.
“The IRONMAN Group is delighted to have developed with VinFast a comprehensive and far-reaching partnership, inclusive of our pinnacle IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “We value the way VinFast pushes the boundaries forward through their smart and eco-friendly electric vehicles to create a sustainable future for all. This is much like the spirit of IRONMAN and our athletes to break through and surpass preconceived boundaries.”
As the world’s first automotive manufacturer to completely switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, Vietnam’s first EV brand, and a pioneer in many innovative areas and technologies, VinFast takes pride in achieving what many people thought could be impossible. VinFast has brought world-class quality EVs to consumers in the outstandingly short time, at a reasonable cost. Providing sustainable transportation, exemplifying the journey of champions is one of many efforts VinFast has made towards the goal to make premium electric vehicles attainable to everyone, contributing to the global electric vehicle revolution, for a greener and more sustainable future.
By associating with IRONMAN and its series of mass participation sporting events that positively affect millions of people around the world, VinFast takes the opportunity to widely promote itself to the global citizens, as well as inspiring on the use of electric vehicles.
Regarding the strategy behind the partnership, Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO stated: “Sharing the spirit that ‘Anything is Possible,’ we are honored to be a Premier Partner of IRONMAN & IRONMAN 70.3 Series. We are proud to be part of the moments that push people beyond their boundaries, and beyond what many have thought is humanly possible. We are certain that our electric mobility will strongly underpin the journeys of IRONMAN athletes around the world to be boundless.”
IRONMAN events are globally known for being one of the world’s most challenging single-day sporting competitions. Since its debut in 1978, the IRONMAN triathlons are a series of full-distance races composed of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride, and a 26.2-mile run, in that order. Similar to the IRONMAN triathlons, the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons maintain the structure and format of the original triathlon series but with half-distance triathlons composed of 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run.
With more than 40 IRONMAN triathlon races and 90 IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons worldwide, hundreds of thousands of athletes from around attempt to qualify for the respective IRONMAN World Championship and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship which are known for their grueling course, challenging race conditions, and international media coverage. Receiving significant acclaim and public interest, the live broadcasts and documentary recap specials have earned top honors inclusive of 17 Sports Emmy Awards.
VinFast – a member of Vingroup – envisioned to drive the movement of global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a state-of-the-art automotive manufacturing complex with globally leading scalability that boasts up to 90% automation in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Strongly committed to the mission for a sustainable future for everyone, VinFast constantly innovates to bring high-quality products, advanced smart services, seamless customer experiences, and pricing strategy for all to inspire global customers to jointly create a future of smart mobility and a sustainable planet. Learn more at: https://vinfastauto.com.
Established in 1993, Vingroup is one of the leading private conglomerates in the region, with a total capitalization of $35 billion USD from three publicly traded companies (as of November 4, 2021). Vingroup currently focuses on three main areas: Technology and Industry, Services and Social Enterprise. Find out more at: https://www.vingroup.net/en.
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf®, UTMB® World Series events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events including Haute Route®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.
Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, 1010data and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.
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SOURCE VinFast Automotive
