VinFast's longer-range electric SUV lands in North America

VinFast, Vietnam's leading maker of electric vehicles, announced on Monday it had shipped a second batch of 1,879 longer-range VF 8 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), in an effort to expand its presence in overseas markets by bringing these vehicles to customers overseas.

‍

As of November, VinFast, which is backed by the largest conglomerate in Vietnam Vingroup JSC (VIC.HM), sent 999 VF8 SUVs from Vietnam to California, but it did not receive the VF8 SUVs until March to prepare them for delivery to customers after disclosing to buyers that the battery range on the car would be lower than what they had told buyers in advance.

‍

VinFast said in a statement that 1,098 of the cars of the new batch will make their way to California after a 20-day sea journey, while the remaining cars will be shipped to Canada, according to the statement.

‍

There will be deliveries starting in May to the U.S. market and June to the Canadian market, according to the statement.

‍

VinFast is currently offering a monthly lease price of $399 for the VF 8 City Edition model for a 24-month lease period, which is a great deal.

‍

‍

As a result of VinFast's successful launch in 2019, the company plans to expand in the U.S. market. In North Carolina, it has said that it will begin production in 2025, after which it will open a distribution center.

‍

A statement from the company on Monday stated that it planned on exporting a first batch of 700 VF 8 vehicles to Europe in mid-July this year and that it would also be opening global reservations for two new models.

‍

In the first quarter of this year, the automaker delivered 865 VF 8 units to the domestic market, and its annual production capacity is 250,000 units. According to VinFast, the company was able to secure 55,000 orders globally as of December last year, approximately 12,000 of which came from the U.S. market.

‍

VinFast filed for an initial public offering in the United States last year in order to list on the Nasdaq in order to raise funds for its expansion. In a registration statement for its initial public offering, the company reported a loss of $2.1 billion on revenues of $634 million in 2022.