Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast told CNBC it plans to begin production in the United States by 2024, even as it cuts jobs in North America.
Vietnam’s first domestic automobile manufacturer previously announced plans to go public in the United States
Just this week, VinFast — the automotive division of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup — Announced workforce reductions in the United States In a restructuring exercise to consolidate operations across the United States and Canada.
VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in an interview with CNBC’s JP Ong on Friday: .
News of job cuts follows Reuters report on February 3rd VinFast plans to delay delivery to first US customer
As originally planned, we plan to start prototyping in 2024.
Le Ti to Tui
CEO, Vinfast
Vinfast shipped the first batch of cars to the United States November included 999 VF 8s. It was supposed to ship by the end of December, but the shipment was postponed to February.
Le told CNBC on Friday that there are about 12,000 pre-orders in the US.
International expansion
The automaker is stepping up its expansion into the U.S. to compete with American automakers such as Tesla, it announced. We plan to set up a production plant in North Carolina Manufacture EVs.
It said the layoffs would not affect its planned timeline to begin production at its first North American manufacturing plant.
“We are in the final stages of getting permits to test construction, but the land has already been cleared. The state is already working on the infrastructure on the land as well,” she told CNBC.
“We plan to start prototyping in 2024, as originally planned,” Le said. The company announced that the plant will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 electric vehicles.
The CEO said VinFast’s next planned target market would be Europe, namely Germany, France and the Netherlands.
However, VinFast vehicles are not currently made in the United States, but in Vietnam, so they are not eligible for the $7,500 tax credit in the United States. 2023 VinFast VF 8 Model Pricing Starting at $40,700.
“We quickly accelerated plans for the North Carolina plant. Fortunately, we had already signed that agreement before the Inflation Reduction Act,” Le said.
“We never thought it would come, but we always [planned] With factories in the United States, IRA has increased its manufacturing capacity in the United States to give customers access to electric vehicles at reasonable prices. “
“In the long run, I think [we are] We will concentrate the manufacturing of electric vehicles and key components for electric vehicles in the United States.”
VinFast IPO Plan
Vinfast We filed for an initial public offering in the United States on December 6th. The number of shares to be traded and the price were not disclosed. According to its prospectusIt is also unclear when the company plans to go public.
“We’ve seen the heat of the market, and I think it’s a little bit better this year. We’re ready, but the market needs to be more supportive for an IPO to happen,” said Le. said Mr.
When asked about the expected timing of an IPO, she said: