Vinfast increases electric car product marketing with a $2 billion plant in North Carolina, USA

DNHN - VinFast, the car division of Vietnam's biggest company, Vingroup, aims to develop a $2 billion electric vehicle and battery facility in the US.

Last week, the company claimed it had reached an agreement with the state of North Carolina to build its first US car manufacturing facility.

The 1,977-acre (800-hectare) plant can generate 150,000 automobiles annually. It will primarily manufacture EVs and batteries.

An official from Vinfast said in a statement: "The project in North Carolina reaffirms VinFast's commitment to worldwide investment and commercial growth, particularly in the US."

VinFast stated in a statement that phase one construction would begin this year and finish in July 2024. The business will also build electric sports vehicles, the announcement stated.

“This sounds like a very logical thing; I think they have a global strategy and they are taking it to step by step,” said Adam McCarty, chief economist at Mekong Economics in Hanoi

With almost 15 million new automobile registrations last year, the US was the world's second-biggest auto market behind China, according to Statista.

According to McCarty, the plant will put VinFast closer to customers and in line with local business trends.

In addition to "more technology" and "American-style marketing talents," he said.

As per Frederick Burke, a lawyer at Baker McKenzie Law Firm in Ho Chi Minh City, the federal government and many states in the United States have given money to manufacturers, companies like Toyota and Mercedes-Benz.

The company may need to get "advanced" electric vehicle components from Germany and Japanese-owned auto factories in Thailand, Burke said.

Analysts think VinFast's electric vehicles may struggle to sell outside of Vietnam owing to poor brand identification among US buyers of VinFast automobiles and manufacturing lines.

With its headquarters in Los Angeles and two electric car models at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, VinFast expects the US IPO to boost sales of electric cars.

Quoc Bao