VinFast to build $2-bln electric auto plant in US

Automaker VinFast has signed a deal with North Carolina state in the U.S. to build a $2-billion plant to make electric buses, cars, and auto batteries. It is set to finish by July 2024, when it will have a capacity of 150,000 units a year, VinFast said in a statement Wednesday. Investment in the plant will eventually double to $4 billion.

U.S. President Joe Biden claimed in a statement Tuesday that the plant, which will create more than 7,000 jobs and hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles and batteries, is the latest example of his economic strategy at work.

“Our efforts to build a clean energy economy are driving companies to make more in America, rebuild our supply chains here at home, and ultimately bring down costs”.

The announcement is the latest move by VinFast, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s biggest private company, Vingroup, in its efforts to become a global electric vehicle manufacturer.

It is targeting sales of 42,000 this year after starting to deliver cars in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands in late 2022.

Outside of North America, it is looking to set up a plant in Germany, the company had said in January.

VinFast’s VF8 and VF9 electric SUVs cost from $41,000 to $61,000 in the U.S. By comparison, a Tesla SUV sells for around $63,000.

The company became Vietnam’s first indigenous car manufacturer in 2019 and plans to transition completely to electric vehicles this year.