VinFast EV production in the US won’t start until 2025

VinFast’s ambitious ambition to sell electric vehicles to US consumers has met another setback at its production site. Facility not yet built in North Carolina It is not scheduled to start until 2025.

Vietnam people company A company spokesperson said earlier this week that VinFast “has obtained its aviation permit, is preparing to bid for subcontractors, and will begin construction soon.”

VinFast’s Planned US Updated Filings Initial public offering It was released on Friday, but commissioning of the facility is targeted for 2025.

“Phase 1 pre-construction work will begin in the third quarter of 2022, with commissioning targeted for 2025,” Filing said. “The first phase of the facility is expected to have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, which he will increase to 250,000 when the second phase is completed.

Tesla By comparison, Inc.’s China factory produces about 70,000 cars a month.

VinFast told Bloomberg News that the reason for the delay was “we need more time to complete the administrative procedures”.

This timeline delay also means that VinFast will not be able to take advantage of tax credits provided under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA EV tax credit applies only to electric vehicles manufactured in the United States. VinFast now manufactures electric vehicles at its factory north of Hanoi and installs them on ships.

“If our EV purchases fail to qualify for tax credits under the IRA, we may see a decrease in demand for our EVs,” VinFast said in its filing. About $800 million in 2020, and in 2021 he’s a $1.4 billion deficit. Revenue from vehicle sales last year fell from about $586 million in 2021 to just $525 million.

VinFast is part of Vingroup JSC owned by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, who has a net worth of approximately $4.1 billion.

As of the end of last year, Vingroup, its affiliates and external lenders had put about $8.2 billion into VinFast. Vuong has no plans yet to personally invest more money in VinFast, the automaker’s CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in February.

The EV maker’s owners and lenders had invested about $7.5 billion in operating expenses and capital expenditures as of September, previous pre-IPO filings showed.

Vehicles shipped from Vietnam began to be delivered to US customers this month. Forty-five so-called VF 8 City Edition electric SUVs have been delivered to buyers and VinFast said these vehicles will continue to be delivered to customers through his VinFast stores or courier services. In total, approximately 999 vehicles are expected to be delivered.

In response to Bloomberg’s question about some vehicles not starting upon arrival in the U.S., a company spokesperson said, “Some vehicles may have had dead batteries and needed to be recharged upon arrival in the U.S. This is normal. That’s the thing,’ he said.

According to VinFast, there are around 12,000 pre-orders for the VF 8 and VF 9 models.

VinFast said in its latest filing that the mileage-restricted City Edition car is the first version of the VF 8 to go through the relevant testing and approval process in the United States, thus making it more driving-enhanced than the VF 8. Said it was available soon. range.