It’s a bold and risky bet but one that sends a clear message to local automakers: the cards for the US electric vehicle market are not yet fully dealt. There are still places to take (and cards still to fall).
Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast has decided to challenge Tesla (TSLA) – Get the Tesla Inc reportford (F) – Get the Ford Motor Company reportGM (GM) – Get the General Motors Company ReportRivian (BANK) – Get the Class A report from Rivian Automotive, Inc. and Lucid Group (LCID) – Get the report from Lucid Group, Inc. on American soil. VinFast will build a factory in North Carolina this year.
This production site will be located at the Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County, covering an area of 800 hectares, with 3 main areas: production and assembly of electric cars and buses, production of batteries for electric vehicles and ancillary industries for suppliers, the company said in a statement. Press release.
Construction of the site will begin after obtaining the necessary permit, says VinFast, which hopes to start producing cars there in July 2024. The initial capacity is expected to be 150,000 vehicles per year.
The group will initially invest $2 billion to sell cars to Americans.
VinFast will create thousands of jobs
“North Carolina’s strong commitments to building a clean energy economy, fighting climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal place for VinFast to grow. its premium, smart and eco-friendly electric vehicles,” said Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup. Vice President and CEO of VinFast Global.
“Having a direct-to-market production facility will help VinFast proactively manage its supply chain, keep prices stabilized and shorten product lead times, making VinFast’s Evs more accessible to customers. , thus contributing to the achievement of local objectives for the improvement of the environment.
Yet EV makers that have sought to break into the U.S. market by building factories there in recent years have either failed or given up on much of their ambitions.
This is the case of Fisker Automotive (FSR) – Get Fisker Inc’s Class A Report, which had to file for bankruptcy after the bankruptcy of its battery supplier. Faraday Smart Future (FIE) – Get the report from Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc., which launched to much fanfare in 2014, is currently mired in investigations over statements made by its executives. The group has still not managed to market a vehicle. Faraday also sold purchased land in Nevada where the automaker planned to build a plant.
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Based in Hanoi, Vietnam, VinFast, founded in 2017, said to be a global producer of premium automobiles. North Carolina will be its second plant, the other is a vehicle production plant in Haiphong, Vietnam, which will have the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026, according to the company.
VinFast has also established operations in Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The company currently provides an ecosystem of EV products in its home country of Vietnam, including electric scooters, electric buses, electric cars, charging station systems and green energy solutions, according to a statement from hurry.
US President Joe Biden hailed VinFast’s investment on Twitter, saying it would create more than 7,000 jobs.
VinFast plans an IPO in the United States
“Today VinFast announced that it will build an electric vehicle and battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina – $4 billion to create over 7,000 jobs. This is the latest example of my economic strategy to the work.
Vehicles to be produced at the North Carolina site include the VinFast VF 9, a 7-passenger all-electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the VinFast VF 8, a 5-passenger all-electric mid-size SUV.
the starting price for the VF 8 with a range of 316.9 miles is $41,000, while the starting price for the VF 9 (422.5 miles) is $56,000.
“All advance reservations can be refunded, offered or transferred from April 6, 2022,” the company said. noted in January.
The group book the first cars produced to its Vietnamese customers in December. It aims to sell a total of about 700,000 to 1 million electric vehicles within five to six years, Thuy told Bloomberg. VinFast has received 50,000 orders worldwide for its VF 8 and VF 9 models.
VinFast is also working with investment banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, to prepare for an IPO in the United States. If the company goes through with this latest project, it would become one of the first Vietnamese companies to list on a US market. The company is interested in a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) for a US listing.
