Will the next world leader in electric vehicles be Vietnamese? The manufacturer VinFast wants to compete with the big players in the sector, such as BYD and Tesla. Founded in 2017, the privately held company is a subsidiary of VinGroup, a sprawling conglomerate.
It took the turn towards electric in 2022. Very largely loss-making, like many of its rivals, the brand recorded a net loss of more than 2 billion dollars in 2023, the year of its IPO – noted – in the United States: introduced at $22 on August 15, VinFast shares climbed to $93 in the first days of its trading, before collapsing, now hovering below $4. This decline is linked to the uncertainties surrounding the automobile firm, which operates in an ultra-competitive environment and has yet to emerge from an industrial point of view. If VinFast plans to open assembly sites in Indonesia and India, it has had to postpone until 2028 the finalization of its factory in North Carolina, initially planned for 2025.
The manufacturer currently only has one manufacturing unit in the north of Vietnam, on the island of Cat Hai. This industrial tool with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles remains largely underutilized due to sales which are struggling to take off: 35,000 vehicles sold in 2023. VinFast hopes to sell 80,000 this year (in particular thanks to its new small SUV VF 3 ), renouncing its initial, more ambitious objective of 100,000 units, given that it had only delivered 21,747 cars over the first six months.
Its flagship model, VF 8, has been widely criticized by specialists, calling into question its quality. Presented at the Paris Motor Show in 2022, the model (equivalent to a Tesla Model Y) has been available in France since June.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
