Vietnam-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Vinfast Auto is on track to meet its delivery goal for the year and plans to build an assembly plant in the country after posting firm July-September delivery figures.
Vinfast delivered around 21,900 EVs during the quarter, more than double compared with the same period a year earlier and up by 66pc on the quarter, according to its latest quarterly results. Vinfast has delivered more than 51,000 EVs during January-October, having delivered more than 11,000 to its customers in Vietnam in October.
"We expect to finish 2024 on a strong note and meet our 80,000-vehicle delivery target, as the momentum in [the third quarter] has continued into [the fourth quarter]," chairwoman of Vinfast's board of directors Le Thi Thu Thuy said. Vinfast lowered its 2024 EV delivery goal from the 100,000 units it set earlier this year. It missed its delivery goal of 40,000-50,000 units last year.
The firm plans to build a new plant in Vietnam's Ha Tinh, which it is targeting to have an annual assembly capacity of 300,000 units. Construction is expected to begin in early December and operations to begin in 2025.
The bold expansion plan comes after Vinfast received a massive funding pledge earlier this month from its parent company Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup and its chairman Pham Nhat Vuong. Vinfast is poised to receive $3.6bn in funding in free grants and loans until the end of 2026 under the new round of financial backing, which includes a $2.1bn personal sponsorship pledge from Pham. Pham last year gifted near the entirety of Vietnamese battery manufacturer VinES Energy Solutions to Vinfast for no consideration.
Vinfast has been loss-making and posted a net loss of $550mn in July-September, which narrowed by 15pc on the year and 29pc on the quarter. Its revenue during the quarter was up by almost half compared with the same period a year earlier to around $512mn. Vinfast racked up $2.4bn of net losses in 2023.
