Vietnamese automaker VinFast recently announced that the United States received its first shipment of 999 VF8 electric vehicles, as per Inqurer.net
The successful delivery capped a five-year effort to build a hub for vehicle production in the Southeast Asian nation for North American and Europe markets.
Officials from VinFast claimed that the initial delivery was given the lucky number 999 because it is so revered in their country. “There is no luckier number than 999,” Thuy said.
Customer deliveries
VinFast also stated that clients should receive their first vehicles by the end of December.
According to VinFast chief executive Le Thi Thu Thuy, the US car subscription service Autonomy will receive some VF 8 electric SUVs. Meanwhile, most of it would be delivered to retail customers who have ordered the car.
VinFast’s North Carolina EV plant
The underdevelopment North Carolina plant for electric vehicles is scheduled to operate in July 2024. Thuy also claimed that the produced EV there would be eligible for the US’s newly passed Inflation Reduction Act.
“The IRA came as a surprise to all of us but it doesn’t really impact our strategy in the US,” Thuy told Reuters. “As soon as we start manufacturing cars in the US, our customers will be eligible (for) the tax incentive.”
The Vietnamese automaker recently reported that Autonomy had placed its largest corporate order totaling 2,500 electric vehicles to date. According to VinFast, it has almost 65,000 orders worldwide and anticipates selling 750,000 EVs annually by 2026.
Shortcomings
Given the automaker’s original objectives, the North Carolina plant project is months out of date. Furthermore, the first delivery of VinFast’s electric vehicles fell short of the 5,000 cars initial target produced at its plant in Haiphong by December.
The parent company of VinFast, Vingroup, saw a 5.41% increase in stock value the day the first shipment was made.
