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Tag: vinfast

  • VinFast ranks second in EV sales in Southeast Asia

    VinFast ranks second in EV sales in Southeast Asia

    According to the research firm Counterpoint Research, EV sales in the region more than doubled in the January to March quarter from a year before. Sales of ICE cars,meanwhile, slid by 7%.

    “Vietnam saw an even more impressive growth, with BEV (battery electric vehicle) sales increasing by more than 400%, contributing to nearly 17% of regional sales,” the firm said.

    “As Japanese and Korean automakers, who dominate conventional vehicle sales, lag in EV adoption, Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are stepping in to fill the gap,” said Counterpoint analyst Abhik Mukherjee.

    “Over 70% of EV sales in the region are from Chinese brands, led by BYD,” he said. In the first quarter of last year, 75% of all EVs sold in Southeast Asia were made by Chinese car makers.

    Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, where Chinese car makers have committed more than US$1.44 billion to set up new EV production facilities, is leading the charge.

    The regional auto manufacturing hub where Japan’s Toyota Motor and Honda Motor have a major presence accounted for 55% of all Southeast Asia’s EV sales in the first quarter, with the segment growing 44% compared to last year.

    U.S. electric carmaker Tesla saw its market share in the region drop two percentage points to 4% in the first quarter, in spite of its sales growing 37% in the same period.

    A number of Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Indonesia, have rolled out incentives to stimulate EV demand and attract new investments – a call answered by Chinese car makers locked in a bruising price competition at home.

    “Southeast Asia is becoming a major expansion region for Chinese OEMs,” Mukherjee said.

  • VinFast recalls over 2,000 EVs

    VinFast recalls over 2,000 EVs

    VinFast is recalling 2,097 electric vehicles to fix various technical issues.

    Some of the VF e34 and VF 5 Plus cars produced between September 2023 and April 2024 face the threat of bolts securing the upper cover of the high-voltage battery becoming loose, leading to a potential reduction in the water resistance.

    This issue affects 23 VF e34 and 131 VF 5 Plus units. VinFast will inspect and tighten the bolts and replace the high-voltage battery if needed.

    VF 6 Plus vehicles produced between March 18 and April 9 this year have a potential defect that could cause the brake fluid hose connectors to crack, leading to possible brake fluid leakage.If the brake fluid drops below the minimum threshold, a warning will appear on the control screen, and the braking system’s effectiveness will be reduced. The number of p otentially affected vehicles is 47.<

    VinFast will inspect and replace the brake fluid hoses in the affected vehicles free of charge.

    In VF 8 and VF 9 (Eco and Plus) cars manufactured between August 2022 and March 2024, incorrect airbag types might have been installed in certain places.

    After approximately 10,000 kilometers of use, an airbag warning and inspection request may appear on the screen.

    If the airbags are not of the correct type, they may not deploy in the event of a severe collision under certain conditions.

    In all, 1,134 VF 8 Eco and VF 8 Plus vehicles and 762 VF 9 Eco and VF 9 Plus vehicles are being recalled.

    VinFast has reported these issues to the Vietnam Register and will individually notify vehicle owners, asking them to bring their vehicles to authorized service centers.

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  • VinFast recalls 5,900 EVs for headlight issue

    VinFast recalls 5,900 EVs for headlight issue

    VinFast is recalling 5,912 VF 5 Plus electric vehicles manufactured last year to fix the issue of headlights turning off when the left turn signal is switched on.

    The company said the headlights in some VF 5 Plus cars, the smallest in its EV lineup, could turn off when the car is traveling at 50-55 kilometers per hour and the headlights are in auto mode.

    This is due to a hardware issue in the circuit board the company received from its supplier, it said.

    The supplier would replace the necessary parts for free, and the task will take around 40 minutes, it added.

    There have been no incidents due to the issue so far, but the company is recalling all vehicles produced between March and December last year.

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  • EV maker VinFast to invest $1.2B in Indonesia

    EV maker VinFast to invest $1.2B in Indonesia

    Vietnam’s first electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast plans to build a plant with an investment capital of 18.6 trillion Rp (US$1.2 billion) in Indonesia, according to Presidential Chief of Staff of Indonesia Moeldoko.

    Moeldoko told a press on Nov. 6 that the construction will begin as soon as possible. He, however, did not reveal further details of the plan.

    Vinfast is one of the largest EV manufacturers in Southeast Asia, with its cars exported to Europe and America, the official said, adding its investment in Indonesia can help form an EV ecosystem in the country.

    Indonesia’s media reported that in early September, Vinfast leaders had a meeting with Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan who pledged to facilitate the automaker’s operation.

    Secretary General of the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industry (Gaikindo) Kukuh Kumara said in late October that Vinfast has discussed and expressed its willingness to join the association.

    The manufacturer is completing necessary procedures with the Indonesian government before officially entering the country’s auto market, he said.

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  • VinFast revenues jump on EV sales to Vietnam affiliate

    VinFast revenues jump on EV sales to Vietnam affiliate

    Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast said on Thursday its third-quarter revenue more than doubled with the largest share of its sales going to an affiliate company owned by its founder.

    About 60% of VinFast’s deliveries, or more than 6,000 vehicles, went to Green SM (GSM), a Vietnam-based taxi operator and leasing provider 95% owned by VinFast’s founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, executives said on a call with analysts.

    VinFast had not provided that breakdown in its published earnings.

    For the past two quarters GSM has accounted for about two-thirds of VinFast’s sales.

    VinFast recorded US$343 in revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30, up 159% on the year. Its net loss widened 33.7% to US$623.

    The company aims to hit break even within two years and run its factory in Vietnam at full capacity by then. The factory in Haiphong has the capacity to produce 250,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year but has been running far short of that.

    GSM launched Vietnam’s first pure EV taxi service earlier this year with a target of starting with 600 VinFast EVs. It also operates a ride service with VinFast electric scooters, executives said.

    It was not immediately clear how many of the 13,000 vehicles GSM has bought from VinFast over the past two quarters would go into its fleet or how many it would hold to lease to customers.

    VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said VinFast planned to expand its partnership with GSM to include Indonesia and India, where it is setting up smaller-scale factories that will assemble vehicles shipped in parts from Vietnam.

    “For VinFast, GSM is a very good partner,” she told analysts. “There have been an overwhelming number of questions over GSM.”

    Executives said VinFast expected to have its first U.S. franchise dealership open by the end of the year and was considering proposals from 27 dealers to sell its vehicles, including a second model, the VF 9, it expects to launch this year.

    VinFast, which was formed in 2017 and began making EVs in 2021, plans to set up kit assembly plants in both India and Indonesia to take advantage of EV incentives on offer in those markets, Thuy said.

    VinFast has entered the market at a time when EV prices are under pressure, led by cuts at market leader Tesla (TSLA.O)and a range of Chinese companies.

    VinFast, backed by Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, was listed on the Nasdaq in August after a merger with a blank-check company.

    Shares in VinFast were up 4.5% at US$8.4 each by 1410 GMT.

    The company, which ended the quarter with US$130 million in cash, said it expected to receive around US$1.2 billion in grants from its parent company, its founder Vuong, and two key shareholders in the next six months.

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  • VinFast becomes 3rd biggest EV maker globally

    VinFast becomes 3rd biggest EV maker globally

    VinFast has become the third most valuable electric vehicle maker behind Tesla and BYD with a market cap of US$85 billion.

    Its shares listed on the U.S.’s Nasdaq stock exchange Tuesday at $22 and closed at over $37 billion.

    VinFast’s market cap is higher than all EV startups in the U.S. combined.

    It also exceeds that of Ford Motor, GM, BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz.

    American company Tesla leads the industry with a market cap of $738 billion followed by China’s BYD with $87 billion.

    VinFast is followed by another Chinese company, Li Auto, with $40 billion.

    But data from Bloomberg shows that shares of EV companies that listed through special-purpose acquisition companies, like VinFast, have plummeted after listing.

    U.S. firms Lordstown Motors lost 99% of its value since its listing in October 2020 and Faraday Future 98% since July 2021.

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  • Vietnamese EV maker VinFast gets go ahead for Nasdaq SPAC listin

    Vietnamese EV maker VinFast gets go ahead for Nasdaq SPAC listin

    Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast said it expects to start trading on the U.S. Nasdaq as soon as next week after its merger into a special purchase acquisition company (SPAC) was approved on Thursday.

    On Thursday, shareholders of Hong Kong-based Black Spade Acquisition, a blank-check company, voted to approve the merger with VinFast.

    VinFast, in a joint statement with Black Spade, said it would list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VFS “on or around August 15”.

    The remaining shareholders of Black Spade approved the merger on Thursday. In July, over 80% of the shareholders in the SPAC had opted to redeem their shares before the merger.

    The SPAC merger will not raise new capital for VinFast but the company’s founder Pham Nhat Vuong has championed a U.S. listing as the carmaker seeks to expand in the U.S. market and is building a plant in North Carolina.

    The two companies said the merger had valued VinFast at $23 billion. In comparison, the current market capitalization of U.S.-listed EV makers Rivian and Lucid are $21 billion and around $17 billion, respectively.

    It leaves VinFast’s existing shareholders, including parent company Vingroup and Vuong, Vietnam’s richest man, with 99% of shares in the company.

    “The voting results today are a vote of confidence in VinFast from Black Spade shareholders,” VinFast’s global head Thuy Le said in the statement.

    VinFast had filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq last December, but in May announced plans to list through a merger with Black Spade.

    Other EV makers including Faraday Future, Nikola Corp and Lucid have listed via SPAC deals but the market for such deals has faced increased scrutiny from investors and regulators.

    VinFast has shipped around 3,000 EVs to the United States from its plant in Haiphong, Vietnam. It started to deliver its first VF8 EVs in March. It has not announced U.S. sales figures.

    VinFast’s first-quarter revenue dropped 49% from the previous year and it posted a net loss of $598 million. In 2022, the company posted a loss of $2.1 billion. It has not yet made a profit.

    Vuong, who is also chairman of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, told Vingroup shareholders in May that VinFast expected to sell as many as 50,000 EVs this year and could break even as soon as the end of 2024.

    The company has previously missed some of its internal delivery targets. It faces competition from established rivals led by Tesla, which have been driving down prices and bringing a range of new EVs to market.

    Black Spade was founded by the private investment arm of Lawrence Ho, son of the late gambling mogul Stanley Ho.

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  • VinFast to hold EV factory groundbreaking ceremony in US

    VinFast to hold EV factory groundbreaking ceremony in US

    VinFast, the subsidiary automaker of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, has announced it will hold a groundbreaking ceremony of its electric vehicle (EV) factory in North Carolina, the U.S., on July 28.

    This will be the first EV manufacturing facility in the state and help contribute to the supply of this kind of vehicles in North America, accelerating the global green mobility revolution.

    The facility will be built at the Triangle Innovation Point in Chatham County. Covering an area of approximately 1,800 acres, VinFast’s factory is designed to reach a capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year in Phase 1. The factory will consist of two main areas: production and assembly. The complex will also house supplementary supplier businesses.

    The project has received basic permits to begin Phase 1 construction. When the manufacturing complex commences operations, VinFast’s factory will create an ecosystem of suppliers and help generate thousands of new jobs.

    Le Thi Thu Thuy, CEO of VinFast Auto, said that the manufacturing facility in North Carolina is one of VinFast’s key projects. When it begins operations, the factory will be VinFast’s primary supplier of EVs to the North American market. The company also hopes the construction of the factory in Chatham County will contribute to advancing the clean energy economy in the U.S. and help to support North Carolina’s green mobility strategy.

    The factory is expected to start production in 2025. Last year, VinFast was awarded a US$1.2 billion incentive package from the State of North Carolina for this project, along with critical financial support from the City of Sanford, Chatham County, and the Golden Leaf Foundation.

    In addition to the factory, VinFast is accelerating its business and brand recognition in the US by expanding its retail store and service centre system, organising local test drives and displaying products events throughout California. These efforts will aid in bringing opportunities for customers to directly experience VinFast’s EVs.

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  • Vietnam’s VinFast recalls first batch of US-bound EVs over safety risk

    Vietnam’s VinFast recalls first batch of US-bound EVs over safety risk

    Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast said it is recalling all of the first batch of vehicles it shipped to the United States last year following a safety warning issued by U.S. authorities.

    The move came after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said 999 of VinFast’s VF 8 vehicles suffered a software error in the dashboard display that prevented critical safety information from being shown and “may increase the risk of a crash”.

    More than 700 of the 999 units are still in VinFast’s hands and have not been delivered to customers or fleet services, the NHTSA estimated.

    In a statement to Reuters, VinFast said it issued a voluntary safety recall of the VF 8 City Edition on which the dashboard screen goes blank while driving or stationary.

    “VinFast is not aware of any field reports of incidents. The company is issuing this recall out of an abundance of caution,” it said.

    The recall statement comes less than two weeks after VinFast announced it would list in the United States via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition Co (BSAQ.N).

    The two companies estimated the new entity would have a potential equity value of $23 billion, assuming no Black Spade shareholders elect to cash out.

    In February, VinFast recalled 2,781 VF 8 cars sold domestically over an issue with the front brake of some models.

    VinFast, which was founded in 2017 and began selling EVs in California this year, has shipped two batches of VF 8 cars to the United States totalling 2,097 units. It is also planning to send its first vehicles to Europe in July.

    In documents filed with the NHTSA, VinFast said it first became aware of the dashboard issue on April 27 while reading customer comments and concerns. According to the safety agency, the problem has been documented 18 times.

    The NHTSA said VinFast will introduce a software update that should fix the issue. The software fix is scheduled to go live on May 25 with notification letters being sent out to owners by May 29.

    Last month, VinFast said it had received a fresh round of funding pledges worth $2.5 billion from parent Vingroup JSC, Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate, and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam’s first billionaire and richest man.

  • VinFast to export 1,800 VF 8 electric cars to US, Canada

    VinFast to export 1,800 VF 8 electric cars to US, Canada

    VinFast, a member of Vietnamese private conglomerate Vingroup on April 15 announced that it would export 1,800 VF 8 electric cars to the U.S. and Canada.

    The cars is expected to depart in the next few days, announced VinFast. As planned, the cars will be sold in the U.S. in May and in Canada in June.

    Previously, on November 25, 2022, VinFast exported the first batch of smart electric cars, including 999 units of VF 8 City Edition, to the international market. This was the first batch of cars exported to the international market among 65,000 orders for VinFast VF 8 and VF 9 electric cars globally.

    On March 2, 2023, VinFast handed over the first 45 VF 8 City Edition cars to U.S. customers at 9 VinFast stores.

    According to VinFast, in the first three months of 2023, it handed over a total of 865 VF 8 units to customers in Vietnam.

    VinFast’s VF 8 is also a model that GSM (Green – Smart – Mobility) Joint Stock Company uses for Xanh SM taxi service which was launched in Hanoi on April 14.

    The taxi service using electric cars is expected to be available in Ho Chi Minh City this month and in at least five provinces and cities by the end of this year.

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  • VinFast rolls out long-awaited electric SUVs, eyes overseas deliveries

    VinFast rolls out long-awaited electric SUVs, eyes overseas deliveries

    Vietnamese carmaker VinFast said on Thursday it will begin delivering its new electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to local customers this week and targets overseas deliveries in the coming months.

    VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers with its two electric SUV models.

    “After Vietnam, VinFast expects to export the first batch of VF9 to international markets in the coming months,” VinFast said in a statement, without providing a specific timeline for deliveries of the new model.

    The VF9 model was initially scheduled to debut at the beginning of this year.

    The company currently sells the VF8 model of SUV. It started shipping those last year and delivering them to customers this month. The company has said it would ship the second batch to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2023.

    VinFast, backed by Vietnam’s biggest of conglomerate Vingroup JSC, is the country’s sole EV maker.

    As of December last year, VinFast said it secured 55,000 orders globally, of which 12,000 were from the U.S. market.

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  • EV startup Vinfast to cut US jobs amid restructuring

    EV startup Vinfast to cut US jobs amid restructuring

    Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast is cutting its workforce in the United States, the company said on Monday, amid a restructuring in its major overseas market as the startup grapples with a stalled shipment of its first cars and prepares for a potential stock listing.

    The Vietnamese company, a subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup JSC (VIC.HM), has been moving to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with existing automakers.
    EUnited States.

    VinFast vehicles are not eligible for the $7,500 tax credit in the United States because they are not Vbuilt in North America.

  • Vietnam’s EV maker Vinfast files for US IPO to fuel global expansio

    Vietnam’s EV maker Vinfast files for US IPO to fuel global expansio

    Vietnam’s electric-vehicle maker VinFast said on Tuesday it has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States to list on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “VFS” to fund its expansion with a planned plant in North Carolina.

    VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the U.S. 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.

    For the IPO, the company said it will convert to a Singapore public limited company and will be known as VinFast Auto Ltd, while the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

    Tuesday’s filing follows VinFast’s confidential submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, a month after it said it would build a production plant in North Carolina with an initial projected capacity of 150,000 EVs a year.

    A unit of Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate Vingroup, VinFast first flagged its U.S. IPO in April last year, eyeing to raise $2 billion with valuation of about $60 billion.

    The market valuation for EV startups has drastically cooled for the past year after some companies with sky-high valuation face scrutiny, together with the current gloomy global economy.

    “Valuation or the size of our IPO will be subject, in part, to market conditions,” VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said in a separate statement released on Wednesday.

    “VinFast will continue to monitor opportunities for future fundraises, as the market becomes more familiar with the VinFast brand and story,” she said.

    The company had said IPO was just one of the options to raise fund. In July it tapped banks to raise at least $4 billion to fuel its aggressive expansion.

    No time frame was specified for the offering on Tuesday although the company had said it aimed for an IPO in the fourth quarter of this year.

    But in May, its parent company Vingroup warned the IPO may be delayed to 2023 due to market uncertainty.

    “VinFast intends to conduct an IPO after the SEC declares the registration statement effective, market conditions permitting,” Thuy said on Wednesday, noting the company’s primary objective was to successfully list VinFast on a U.S. stock exchange.

    The EV maker in late November shipped its first batch of 999 vehicles to the United States, capping a five-year bid to develop an auto production hub in Vietnam for markets in North America and Europe.

    VinFast has said it has almost 65,000 orders globally in total and expects to sell 750,000 EVs annually by 2026.

  • VinFast ships first electric vehicles to US

    VinFast ships first electric vehicles to US

    VinFast had shipped its first batch of 999 cars to the U.S., capping a five-year bid to develop an auto production hub in Vietnam for markets in North America and Europe.

    The company said that the first cars are expected to be handed over to customers by the end of December.

    VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said some of the VF 8 electric SUVs being shipped on Friday would be sent to U.S. car subscription service Autonomy but the majority would go to retail buyers who have ordered the car.

    Thuy said VinFast expected to be able to ship a second batch of cars to the United States, its first export market, around January.

    VinFast is in the process of building an electric vehicle plant in North Carolina that is awaiting final regulatory approval from local officials.

    Thuy said the company expected to start production at the North Carolina factory from July 2024 and that electric vehicles built there would qualify for incentives under the terms of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by U.S. President Joe Biden.

    The Inflation Reduction Act, as currently written, requires automakers to have 50% of critical minerals used in EV batteries come from North America or U.S. allies by 2024, rising to 80% by the end of 2026.

    Major automakers have said those targets are unrealistic and it was not immediately clear how VinFast would meet the sourcing requirements.

    “The IRA came as a surprise to all of us but it doesn’t really impact our strategy in the U.S.,” Thuy told Reuters. “As soon as we start manufacturing cars in the U.S., our customers will be eligible (for) the tax incentive.”

    VinFast said last week that Autonomy had ordered 2,500 electric vehicles, its largest corporate order to date. VinFast has said it has almost 65,000 orders globally in total and expects to sell 750,000 EVs annually by 2026.

    The North Carolina factory project is running months behind schedule, based on the company’s initial targets, and the first shipment of EVs built by VinFast was short of the initial goal to deliver as many as 5,000 cars built at its factory in Haiphong by December.

    VinFast officials said the number 999 for the vehicles shipped in the first batch had been chosen because it is considered a lucky number in Vietnam.

    “There is no luckier number than 999,” Thuy said. The Panamanian-chartered transport ship used to send the first shipment of VinFast EVs had the capacity to carry up to 2,000 vehicles, officials said.

    Shares in VinFast’s listed parent company, Vingroup, which also has property and resort development businesses, were up 5.41% on Friday morning.

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  • VinFast to set up headquarters in 3 European markets

    VinFast to set up headquarters in 3 European markets

    VinFast plans to set up headquarters in Germany, France and the Netherlands as it eyes a successful foray into key European markets for its electric cars.

    But it is unclear when the Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam offices will open.

    The company is set to open its first flagship store in Germany’s Cologne next month and another one in Paris in December. More are in the works by early 2023.

    To support its rollout, VinFast said it already has hundreds of employees with vehicle manufacturing experience and market-specific expertise in place across its European launch markets.

    It aims to hire over 200 technicians in the next 12 months to support its after-sales network.

    “Returning to the site of our global debut four years ago, VinFast is proud of the great strides it has made towards market expansion and its commitment to driving the global electric vehicle revolution,” Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO, said.

    “VinFast aspires to an even bigger achievement: becoming a beloved all-electric brand in crucial European markets.”

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