Thuy, a representative of one of the newest players in the electric automobile market, said that she and her co-workers were surprised by the welcome from the market. 

After success in making its debut on Nasdaq, VinFast is moving ahead with its plans. It believes that the market, which is recovering, will help VinFast raise funds in the future. VinFast has the support from the holding company Vingroup and President Pham Nhat Vuong with a funding commitment of $2.5 billion, which will help maintain its operations until they can break even and begin making a profit.

VinFast is building a factory in North Carolina, focusing on manufacturing, delivering products and expanding to other markets, including North America, Vietnam, and Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East in the time to come.

Asked why VinFast is confident that it has competitive edge in the US, where there are many strong electric automobile brands such as Tesla, Thuy said it is because the US is a tough and challenging market. If VinFast can succeed in the US, it will be able to successfully build its brand and gain success everywhere.

“We believe in a future with strong growth in the US, especially with the new business model – hybrid (the brand retail network works with the network of distributors) which will help us expand more rapidly,” Thuy said, adding that VinFast has received high interest from many states in the US.

Moreover, when the market sees the shift from gasoline-fueled vehicles to electric ones,  there will be enough room for new electric automobile brands. 

Regarding the production capacity, Thuy said the factory in Vietnam may run at the capacity of 300,000 products per annum. VinFast has a plan to increase capacity to 950,000 products per annum. The labor force, plus the sustainable supply chain, can create a competitive edge for VinFast.

Meanwhile, the factory in North Carolina is expected to become operational with capacity of 150,000 products a year and can be expanded to increase capacity to satisfy the market demand.

Currently, VF8 is priced from $46,000 (VND1.1 billion), while VF9 is going to be marketed. Thuy said VinFast has had 26,000 orders in the globe and 10,000 in the US, two-third of which are the orders for VF9. Many clients are waiting for delivery in the US.

According to Thuy, the current situation of the charging system is not a problem for VinFast and other electric vehicle manufacturers.

The charging system in the US has been developing well, and VinFast can connect with over 73,000 charging stations in the US.

“The challenge for VinFast is creating products that fit the pockets of all customers. Our mission is making electric vehicles become approachable for everyone,” Thuy said. “That is why we launch into the market a wide range of products from VF3, a minicar, to VF9, a SUV full-size with three rows of seats."

Regarding opportunities to invest in VinFast, Thuy said the automobile manufacturer will continue considering chances to call for capital depending on business performance. A bigger amount of shares is expected to be launched on the market in six months or one year.

“First Move with Julia Chatterley” is a daily CNN business program featuring the latest headlines and top newsmakers, broadcast at 9 am. 

In related news, VinFast shares (VFS) on August 24 had a closing price at a new high of $49 per share. More than 8 million shares were traded in the session. Prior to that, in the first session, the closing price was $37 per share.

The Dinh