The fledgling automaker is also set to go public on US stock market
Vietnamese automaker VinFast has announced that it is moving its legal and financial headquarters to Singapore in preparation for a public listing on the New York stock exchange and the first production run of cars for US and European markets.
In an interview with Reuters, VinFast chief executive officer Le Thi Thu Thuy said Vingroup JSC plans to start production of its VF8 electric SUV next week and its own batteries for the vehicle in August. Thuy also confirmed that the conglomerate will begin construction of manufacturing plant worth $4 billion in North Carolina by the end of summer.
Meanwhile, Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong said earlier this month that VinFast has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States through a Singapore-based holding company but market conditions might push the deal into 2023.
Thuy declined to comment about the IPO when asked, but said the company’s EV expansion plans were not contingent on the listing. “Like any big corporate, we always consider all potential financing transactions,” Thuy said.
VinFast was established in 2017 to produce vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) but in January 2021, the automaker announced that it will stop producing ICE vehicles by the end of 2022 and instead focus on developing all-electric vehicles.
According to Thuy, VinFast’s overseas expansion plans will begin with the VF8, a midsize electric crossover that is powered by a 90 kWh battery, capable of covering a distance of about 500 km on a single charge.
First VF8 models will utilise batteries from South Korea’s Samsung SDI but VinFast has been developing its own batteries as a hedge against future shortage. As aforementioned, the automaker will commence production of the batteries in August and expects to produce about 3,000 vehicles with its own batteries by year-end.
