Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read March 2023 — With the recent delivery of VinFast’s first vehicles in the U.S. and the ongoing development of their North Carolina manufacturing plant, Invest: looks at what’s next for the EV automaker.
VinFast, the automotive subsidiary of Vietnamese multi-billion dollar conglomerate Vingroup, recently delivered its first vehicles to U.S. customers earlier last week. Forty-five of its VF8 City Edition SUV’s were delivered to nine stores in California, heralding the firm’s official entrance into the growing U.S. EV market, even as it continues to develop its Moncure, North Carolina facility.
“The event drew tremendous attention from our U.S. consumers. It’s extremely gratifying in fulfilling our delivery promise and to witness the excitement our customers have for the VinFast brand. This is a great moment for all of us and more motivation to continuously strive to exceed the expectations of our valued customers,” said Gareth Dunsmore, VinFast Deputy CEO for global sales and marketing.
The firm began its first initial shipment of 999 EV’s in November, though supply chain difficulties and a software update meant that delivery was pushed back. According to a statement made at the time, the second half of vehicles is slated to be delivered for the second half of 2023, though the total number remains unspecified.
While VinFast may have struggled delivering its initial batch, it has been hard at work bringing its Moncure plant to bear. The Chatham County facility, about a half-hour outside of Raleigh and just a few minutes north of Raleigh Executive Jetport, is expected to open sometime in 2024 at Triangle Innovation Point. VinFast is investing $4 billion into the plant, and plans to manufacture vehicles on-site. U.S.- based vehicle production would allow the automaker’s cars to qualify for the $7,500 tax-credit from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Local officials in Chatham and Lee County, eager for the regional benefit the plant will provide (which includes average starting salaries of $51,000), have been hard at work clearing the remaining regulatory and logistical hurdles. “We’re working diligently to get them up and running by July 2024,” explained Chatham County Manager Dan LaMontagne in his conversation with Invest:Raleigh-Durham 2022-2023.
Lee County manager John Crumpton, discussing the necessary workforce for a project of this scale, added separately, “It is a big, regional cooperation with Chatham County to help train those workers for the largest economic development project in the state. We had some issues there but this is the thing I am most proud of in the last 12 months because it didn’t seem like it could be done. We are busy trying to grow, as these achievements show.”
The U.S. EV market is expected to rapidly grow, bolstered in part by the IRA and local officials looking to capitalize on the economic growth for their respective communities. A BloombergNEF forecast anticipates half of all vehicle sales will be electric by 2030.
Nevertheless, VinFast will face stiff competition even as its North Carolina plans inch toward completion with competition ramping up across the sunbelt. Ford, BMW, Hyundai, and most recently, Volkswagen, are all investing multiple billions of dollars in their own battery and EV production facilities in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, while Toyota has its own North Carolina plant over in Greensboro – all competitors with greater name recognition in the U.S.
Meanwhile, stock market woes have complicated VinFast’s IPO plans and a consolidation of the North American team has led to reduced headcount.
Despite current challenges, the company aims to forge ahead, with VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy telling CNBC, “We are in the final stages of getting a permit to test the construction but the land has already been cleared. The state has already worked on the infrastructure for the land as well.” She added, “We still plan to start the trial production in 2024 as originally planned.”
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