Vietnam’s VinFast ships first electric vehicles to US customers

VIETNAM’S electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Friday (Nov 25) it had shipped its first batch of 999 cars to the United States, capping a five-year bid to develop an auto production hub in the South-east Asian country for markets in North America and Europe.

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

VinFast chief executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said some of the VF 8 electric SUVs being shipped on Friday would be sent to US 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 US President Joe Biden. REUTERS