Vietnamese car maker VinFast has announced plans to invest US $4 billion in its first US factory complex, located in North Carolina.
An initial deal commits $2 billion to construct a factory where it plans to make its electric buses, “affordable” SUVs and electric vehicle battery packs.
Construction should begin this year once the company gets the necessary permits, and is expected to finish by July 2024. The plant’s initial capacity will be 150,000 units per year, Vinfast said.
“With a manufacturing facility in the US, VinFast can stabilise prices and shorten product delivery time, making our EVs more accessible to customers,” said Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice chair and VinFast Global CEO.
VinFast has begun taking pre-orders globally for two electric SUVs with a goal to begin delivering them in the fourth quarter.
US President Joe Biden said the VinFast investment, which will create more than 7,000 jobs, is “the latest example of my economic strategy at work.”
“It builds on recent announcements from companies like GM, Ford, and Siemens to invest in America again and create jobs,” said Biden, who set an ambitious goal for half of new car sales to be electric by 2030.
This factory will be North Carolina’s first car plant and it is the largest economic development announcement in the state’s history, the governor’s office said in a statement.
VinFast, which launched as Vietnam’s first fully fledged domestic car manufacturer in 2019, plans to transition to all-electric vehicle production by the end of this year. The company is also looking to build a plant in Germany.
