According to Bloomberg, Vietnamese automaker VinFast has announced that the opening of its electric vehicle factory in North Carolina, USA, will be delayed by three years, from the originally planned 2025 to 2028.
In a statement, VinFast explained that this decision would allow the company to "more effectively" manage short-term expenditures and focus resources on short-term growth objectives. VinFast emphasized that it will concentrate on "short-term opportunities in select potential markets to achieve optimal capital and resource management and minimize risks more effectively."
Bloomberg's report highlighted that this decision presents new challenges for VinFast in its ambition to become a global brand. In its annual electric vehicle outlook, BloombergNEF lowered its forecast for VinFast's pure electric vehicle sales by 6.7 million units by 2026. Moreover, automakers like Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, and even Tesla have recently adjusted their forecasts downward.
Just weeks ago, VinFast's founder and CEO, Pham Nhat Vuong, told Bloomberg in an interview that he was willing to bet all his money on VinFast's growth. Vuong mentioned that VinFast was assessing rising factory costs and the potential impacts of delayed production. However, Vuong stated in the interview that VinFast would not reduce the initial annual production capacity (150,000 units) or scale of the North Carolina plant. Yet, the latest statement from VinFast did not address whether the plant's size or capacity would change.
Currently, VinFast exports cars produced in Vietnam to the United States. In the first quarter of this year, deliveries to the US market accounted for over 10% of the company's total deliveries.
Additionally, VinFast has lowered its annual sales target from the previous 100,000 units to 80,000 units. VinFast Chairwoman Le Thi Thu Thuy stated in the announcement, "We have carefully considered recent adverse factors, market volatility, and potential challenges, and have provided a more cautious forecast."
Despite lowering its annual sales target, VinFast indicated that it expects stronger sales growth in the second half of 2024 as it expands its global distribution network in Asia, the United States, and other existing markets. Vuong also mentioned in the interview that VinFast aims to increase its US market sales by 30-40 times this year, while the company's revenue from the US market was only $6.4 million in 2023.
In the second quarter of this year, VinFast delivered 12,058 electric vehicles, a 24% increase from the previous quarter and a 26% increase year-over-year. In the first half of this year, the company delivered 21,747 vehicles, a 92% increase compared to the same period last year.
