After entering the North American market and plans for a headquarters on American soil, Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast announced that North Carolina will be its new home for US manufacturing. The Chatham County, North Carolina site will soon house both an automotive assembly and battery manufacturing facility for Vinfast to build North American electric vehicles such as the VF 9 and VF 8.
VinFast is an automotive manufacturing subsidiary of VinGroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate that develops everything from real estate to hotels to healthcare. Originally founded in 2017, Vinfast started in the Vietnamese market with the help of Pininfarina with two ICE vehicles.
Since then, VinFast’s moves have gone beyond “fast” in entering the EV market. We got our first look at the first two electric vehicles – the VF e35 and VF e36 – at last fall’s LA Auto Show, after it was announced they would be entering markets in North America and Europe.
VinFast continued its rapid expansion with news that it would open a US headquarters in Los Angeles, along with plans to manufacture on US soil in 2024. The automaker said at the same time that it is already considering an IPO and seems to be taking three steps ahead of its competitors for every single one.
By the end of 2021, VinFast began shipping its first electric vehicles to customers in Vietnam – the very first electric vehicles sold in the country. By the end of this year, Vinfast will cease all production of ICE vehicles abroad and produce exclusively electric vehicles, dropping the “e” from its vehicle nomenclature.
The first two EVs to arrive in North America will be the aforementioned VF e35 and e36, which have since been renamed the VF 8 and VF 9. Following Vinfast’s recent announcement, we now know that these two flagship EVs will be assembled in North Carolina.
A ceremony celebrating Vinfast’s new home in North Carolina. Left: NC Governor Roy Cooper / Right: Vinfast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy / Source: Vinfast
Vinfast will designate North Carolina as home for US manufacturing
According to a Vinfast press release, the automaker has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the North Carolina government to build its first North American manufacturing facility in the state.
Vinfast intends to invest up to $2 billion in the first phase of the manufacturing facility and create thousands of new jobs for local residents. Vinfast’s new manufacturing center, due to break ground this year, will cover nearly 2,000 acres and will be divided into three separate areas: electric car and bus production/assembly, EV battery manufacturing, and ancillary industries for suppliers.
With its move to the eastern United States, Vinfast joins a growing number of electric vehicle manufacturers settling in North Carolina, including Arrival and Toyota. With other companies like Proterra and Volvo making batteries in sister state North Carolina, the Carolinas are fast becoming an EV mecca. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper shared a similar sentiment:
North Carolina is fast becoming the center of our nation’s burgeoning clean energy economy. VinFast’s transformative project will bring many good jobs to our state, along with a healthier environment as more electric vehicles hit the streets to help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When planned production begins in July 2024, the North Carolina site will join Vinfast’s current plant in Haiphong, Vietnam, which is expected to have the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026. Vinfast has stated that Phase 1 of the North Carolina plant is targeting an output of 150,000 vehicles per year, but the MOU states intentions to add additional phases to the production footprint.
These results will be critical to Vinfast’s growing global operations, which now include the United States, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands in addition to Vietnam. North American consumers will first see the midsize five-passenger VF 8 SUV and the seven-passenger VF 9 SUV.
The VF 8 will start at an MSRP of $41,000 in the US and €36,133 in Europe, while the VF 9 will have an MSRP of $56,000 (US) and €49,280 (Europe). It’s important to note that these prices don’t include the EV battery, which must be leased through Vinfast for an additional fee based on monthly mileage under one of two available plans.
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