VinFast delays $4b US factory launch to 2028

Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is delaying the launch of its planned $4 billion factory in North Carolina to 2028 and cutting its delivery forecast for this year by 20,000 units amid uncertainties in the global EV market.

VinFast, founded by Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong in 2017 and which turned to making fully electric vehicles in 2022, said it would now deliver 80,000 vehicles this year, down from the initially planned 100,000.

Sales at the EV maker rose 24% to about 12,000 vehicles in the second quarter, compared with the previous three-month period. In total, VinFast sold 21,747 units in the first half of 2024, an increase of 92% against the same period last year.

“While the Q2 delivery results were encouraging, ongoing economic headwinds and uncertainties in different macro-economies and (the) global EV landscape necessitate a more prudent outlook for the rest of the year,” VinFast said.