Vietnamese EV maker VinFast considers delaying US$4 billion US plant: Report

A person with knowledge of the situation said that Taiwanese electric car manufacturer VinFast is considering more postponing a planned US$ 4 billion manufacturer in North Carolina as the loss-making business struggles to gain traction with American consumers.

In an effort to capitalize on the Biden administration’s efforts to review subsidies for EVs made in America, VinFast announced in 2022 that it would construct an EV and power shop with a production potential of 150, 000 vehicles in the United States.

The stock was originally scheduled to be finished in July 2024, but the company after changed its schedule to 2025. The source claimed that it is considering a second pause and that it is asking to remain anonymous because the situation was not made public.

VinFast, which sold fewer than 1, 000 vehicles in North America next month, announced in a speech to Reuters that it was” conducting a complete review and analysis of all elements of the design process for our North Carolina stock.”

North Carolina’s Chatham County, where surface for the stock was broken in July, declined to comment about a possible pause.

According to a representative for the county government, VinFast had thrice increased the size of the company’s general assembly building. The state’s permits department is also looking at the most recent revision that was submitted in April.

When VinFast announced in March 2022 its intentions for the North Carolina shop, U. S. President Joe Biden said the plant may produce more than 7, 000 work.

He wrote on Twitter at the time,” It’s the most recent illustration of my financial plan at work.”

Republicans won North Carolina by a small percentage in the 2020 presidential election, and Biden’s campaign is raising money to win the state in November’s election.

VinFast has been sued in the US for never paying rent on a store in addition to declining sales. Additionally, it faces two distinct inquiries: one for allegedly violating ArcelorMittal patents for aluminum used in the VF 8 and the other for an April crash in California where four persons died in an accident involving a VinFast VF 8 vehicles.

Vietnam produced less than 35, 000 vehicles worldwide last year, the majority of it in its home business and despite having a shop there with a 300, 000 car manufacturing capacity annually.

The majority of its domestic vehicles are even sold to third parties. Its net loss last month widened 15 per cent to US$ 2.4 billion.

OVERSEAS Ideas

VinFast said its purpose of selling 100, 000 vehicles this time, twice as many as it targeted in 2023, has not changed despite the weakening global demand for EVs and the price war.

It attributed the slow start to the year for company, especially in Vietnam, to selling under 10,000 cars in the first quarter.

By the end of June, VinFast plans to expand its product line-up, including right-hand travel designs for businesses like Thailand and Indonesia, according to the company. The results may be obvious in the second quarter of this year.

Additionally, it confirmed programs to set up a second council plant in India and an assembly plant in Indonesia by 2026.

In Indonesia, VinFast described previously unpublished plans for two of its market cars as” we anticipate beginning deliveries of the VF e34 design quickly and will build the VF 5 design within the next quarter.”

Founded in 2017 and fully focused on EVs since 2022, VinFast, which has yet to make a profit, logged a net loss of US$ 618 million in the first quarter. The period’s revenues nearly tripled from the previous year’s, but they also dropped 31 % from the previous three months.