Vietnam’s electric SUVs maker eyes US deliveries
The logo of Vietnam's VinFast, a fledgling electric vehicle (EV) maker, is pictured in a sales location at a shopping mall in Santa Monica, California, U.S., May 23, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
Vietnamese carmaker VinFast on Saturday began handing its first batch of 100 all-electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to local customers, with US deliveries of the vehicle due to begin as soon as December.
VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the US market, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers and startups with its two all-electric SUVs, the VF8 and VF9, including battery leasing to reduce the purchase price.
“The first batch of 5,000 VF8 units will be for US and North American markets. Mass production will start from next week,” VinFast Global Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy told Reuters on the sidelines of a delivery ceremony at its plant in Vietnam’s northern province of Haiphong.
VinFast, part of Vingroup JSC, will start shipping cars overseas in November and customers will have cars delivered as soon as December, Thuy said.
The company has registered almost 65,000 reservations globally, and it expects to sell 750,000 EVs per year by 2026, starting with the VF8 and VF9 all-electric SUVs.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2022.
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