[ad_1]
The Vietnamese automaker Vinfast will begin pre-ordering its VF e35 and e36 electric SUVs in the US market in the first half of 2022 and is expected to begin deliveries by the end of the year, said global CEO Michael Lohscheller.
“It’s too early to make any sales predictions, but VinFast will be unveiling two of our latest EV models, the VF e35 and VF e36, at the 2021 Auto Show in Los Angeles this November, marking our official launch on the American market,” said he in an email to Reuters.
The company expects to begin shipping its first electric vehicles in Vietnam in December, said Lohscheller, a former Volkswagen and Opel executive who was appointed to his position at Vinfast in July.
Vinfast, the auto arm of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup, has an office in California and expects to open 60 US showrooms next year, he said.
Vinfast has great ambitions to start selling electric vehicles in the US and European markets in the next year, taking on Tesla and other automakers. Funding for this plan will be provided by Vingroup, which started as an instant noodle company in post-Soviet Ukraine and now has interests in real estate, resorts, schools, hospitals and smartphones.
Vinfast was founded in 2017 and aims to compete on vehicle size and price. The automaker’s vehicles will also come with a battery leasing program, which means the cost of the battery, one of the most expensive components of an electric vehicle, is not included in the final price.
VinFast, with an assembly plant in Vietnam, plans to do the majority of its US sales online. Lohscheller said the company will “be looking at the possibility of a manufacturing facility in the US.”
The company has targeted global electric vehicle sales of 15,000 vehicles over the next year, down from its previous target of 56,000 due to the global semiconductor chip scarcity.
To fund its growth, Vinfast has announced plans to go public in the United States.
“VinFast has a plan to go public in the US, but the exact timing depends on the market and other conditions,” said Lohscheller. “We will release more information at an appropriate time in the future.”
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; editing by Steve Orlofsky)
[ad_2]
