VinFast


VinFast Auto Ltd. is a Vietnamese multinational automotive company founded by Vingroup, one of the largest private conglomerates in Vietnam that was founded by Phạm Nhật Vượng.
Established in 2017 in Haiphong, it is the first Vietnamese car brand to expand into global markets as well as the first to expand into producing electric vehicles such as electric cars and electric scooters.

History

VinFast was founded in 2017 by Vingroup.
VinFast broke ground in September 2017 on an facility in an industrial park located on Cat Hai Island near the city of Hai Phong. The factory includes a paint shop, press shop, assembly shop, and engine shop; it was built in 21 months.
During the launch of the first phase of development in 2018, the company reported an initial investment of US$1.5 billion to manufacture cars and electric motorbikes at a greenfield factory. The company claimed that it has aggregated talent from multiple established companies and is sourcing European design, engineering, and production technology partners. The first two vehicles that were shown at Paris motorshow in the fall of 2018 are the LUX A2.0 and the LUX SA 2.0, designed by Pininfarina and Italdesign Giugiaro.
Previously, in July 2017, all the designs of VinFast's first cars were posted on the website and VinFast asked Vietnamese consumers to vote for which design they liked the most. There were more than 60,000 votes for 20 sketches from four of the world's best auto design studios - Italdesign Giugiaro, Pininfarina, Torino Design and Zagato. Lux A2.0 and Lux SA 2.0 are the results of the vote.
In 2018, General Motors announced its partnership between the company and VinFast. VinFast will have exclusive rights to distribute the Chevrolet brand in Vietnam and will take ownership of the existing General Motors factory in Hanoi. That factory will then build a GM-licensed "all-new global small car" to be sold under the VinFast name.
VinFast signed two contracts with Siemens Vietnam, a unit of Siemens, for the supply of technology and components to manufacture electric buses in Southeast Asian countries in August 2018. On 21 March 2019, it sent the first batch of 155 VinFast Lux cars, 113 completed vehicles and 42 semi-finished cars, abroad in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa to conduct field tests for quality testing and to qualify for a 5-star ASEAN NCAP rating.
The company was to have been the title sponsor of the inaugural edition of the Formula One Vietnamese Grand Prix, which was slated to take place during the season; the race was subsequently cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. In Q1 2020, VinFast was the fifth best-selling car brand in Vietnam.
On 25 February 2020, it was reported that VinFast vehicles were spotted in South Africa for field tests at Kakamas in the Northern Cape Province and in Cape Town. On 20 September, the company announced a loss of VND 6.6 trillion in the first half of the year.
In December 2020, VinFast released preliminary images of a pickup truck being developed weeks after the Lang Lang testing centre was purchased. Other vehicles in development included a three-door hatchback, two different coupe-type SUVs, a small SUV, a four-door sedan, a couple of people movers and electric scooters. According to the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, the patents for these vehicles are set to expire on 14 January 2024.
On 27 July 2021, parent Vingroup announced that Michael Lohscheller, the CEO of Opel, had been appointed CEO of VinFast Global. Five months later, on 27 December, it was announced that Lohscheller had resigned the position.
On 30 September 2021, VinFast reported that Cerence software would be used for its electric vehicles as an intelligence voice assistant. On 25 December, it delivered the first batch of 100 VF e34 electric crossovers to Vietnamese customers at VinFast's manufacturing complex in Hai Phong. The VF e34 marks VinFast's first EV model and the first ever electric vehicle to be manufactured and sold in Vietnam.
According to Reuters, VinFast had only made 7,400 car sales in 2022, all of which occurred in Vietnam. The company however has set itself a target of 50,000 car sales globally for 2023. They missed the goal but delivered close to 35,000 electric cars in 2023. Their Chairwoman, Le Thi Thu Thuy, projected sales of 40,000–50,000 vehicles in 2024.
On 6 January 2022, reports emerged that VinFast plans to build new EV plants in Germany and the United States as part of the company's plans to retire production of gas-powered vehicles and transition fully to EVs by late 2022.
In November 2024, Vingroup JSC, the parent company for VinFast, pledged to loan VinFast as much as $1.38 billion to help the company break even by the end of 2026. Pham Nhat Vuong also pledged an additional $1.97 billion, according to a company statement.

Move to Singapore, efforts to go public

VinFast appeared to making its first efforts to become a public company in early 2021. Sources told Reuters that the automaker planned to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company in the United States. On 28 May 2021, the plan was put on hold due to SPAC scrutiny.
VinFast announced on 7 April 2022 that it planned an initial public offering through a Singapore-based holding company. A few weeks later on 24 May 2022, VinFast announced that it would be moving its headquarters to Singapore, with the company stating that "We feel that Singapore is a jurisdiction that will give investors more confidence." Singapore will be its legal and financial headquarters while Vietnam remains its operational headquarters. However, at the same time, the company said it would again put its plans to go public on hold.
VinFast announced in July 2023 that it was planning to merge with a SPAC operated by Black Spade Capital. The move allows the company to avoid the process of issuing an IPO. The transaction, valued at $23 billion, was completed on 14 August 2023, and the company finally went public on the US-based Nasdaq exchange on 15 August 2023.

Overseas operations

On 31 July 2018, VinFast GmbH was established in Frankfurt, Germany. The office is in charge of distributing auto parts and other related services. On the same day it was announced that VinFast would set up branch offices in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, South Korea.
In February 2020, ex-Holden engineers were being recruited by VinFast in Port Melbourne, making Australia the second overseas country to have a branch after the company moved in December 2019. The branch, known as VinFast Engineering Australia, is staffed by ex-Ford, Holden and Toyota employees and opened on 12 June 2020. On 6 May 2021, the Port Melbourne office was announced to be closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily. The Lang Lang test track appeared to be unaffected by the closure, but on October that year, VinFast announced the sale of the proving ground, although it has not found a buyer as of 2024.
On 29 March 2022, VinFast announced it would locate its first North American auto plant in Chatham County, North Carolina. The auto manufacturer will create 7,500 jobs. In July 2023, the company broke ground at its electric vehicle manufacturing site, located within the Triangle Innovation Point in Chatham County, North Carolina.

Export plans

In April 2019, VinFast reported that the Lux SA2.0 and Sedan Lux A2.0 were the first two models introduced to Russia at the end of 2018. According to Auto.Vesti, the models are expected to be sold throughout Russia by the end of 2020. Vuong mentioned that electric vehicles will be sold in the country after 2021.
In December 2019, it was announced that VinFast had plans to market electric vehicles to the United States by 2021. Exactly one year later, the company did not mention dates when reporting that it intended to sell its vehicles in Australia.
On 22 January 2021, VinFast unveiled three finalized designs of their electric SUV models VF31, VF32, VF33 intended for the US, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands export markets, of which, VF32 and VF33 are available in both gasoline and electric engine versions. These vehicles are stated to meet the NHTSA, Euro NCAP and ASEAN NCAP 5 star-ratings and feature self-driving capabilities thanks to a suite of electronic driver-assist features.
In July 2021, VinFast appointed Michael Lohscheller, who previously worked as an executive of Volkswagen America and as CEO of Opel, to lead its overseas operations. The VF31 was later rebranded as VF e34 and became available in Europe in November.
On 16 November 2022, the first VinFast showroom opened in Toronto at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre. In the same year, the company had chosen Santa Monica as one of two locations to promote its vehicles in California.
VinFast plans to expand in seven more markets in Asia, including Indonesia, where the company aims to start deliveries from 2024. In January 2024, VinFast announced plans to enter the Philippine market. Three dealerships were opened in the country and the electric SUVs VF3, VF5 and VF7 were launched in September and October 2024, respectively.

In the media

In August 2023, and in tandem with their NASDAQ listing, VinFast launched an ad campaign for their VF 8 and US debut featuring Joey Lawrence, reviving his catchphrase, "Whoa!", from the hit TV series Blossom on NBC that amassed a million views on YouTube in under a week, produced by production company Anaheim Studios.
Four million views and four months later, VinFast released a second installment of the Whoa commercial, in which Joey Lawrence reprised his starring role, in December of the same year.

India operations

In February 2024, VinFast officially broke ground on its first integrated electric vehicle manufacturing facility in India, located in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The project, spanning 400 acres within the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu industrial estate, represents a planned investment of up to US$2 billion, with an initial commitment of US$500 million over the first five years. The plant is designed to have an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles and is expected to generate approximately 3,000–3,500 local jobs.
The Thoothukudi facility is scheduled to commence operations by the end of June 2025. Initially, the plant will focus on assembling vehicles using completely knocked down kits, with a starting capacity of 50,000 units per year, scalable up to 150,000 units based on market demand.
In January 2025, VinFast presented its first electric vehicles for the Indian market—the VF 6 and VF 7—at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi. Designed for right-hand drive configurations, these models are part of VinFast's approach to address the increasing demand for premium electric SUVs in India.
In addition to vehicle production, VinFast intends to create a comprehensive EV ecosystem in India, which will include battery manufacturing and charging infrastructure. The company is also considering the establishment of a second EV and battery manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, with an investment proposal of around ₹4,000 crore.
Tamil Nadu is recognized as a key hub for automobile manufacturing in India, featuring significant automotive clusters in cities such as Chennai, Krishnagiri, and Coimbatore. The establishment of VinFast’s facility in Thoothukudi represents the development of the state's fourth major auto cluster, reinforcing Tamil Nadu's role in the automotive industry.