Vietnam’s homegrown EV maker VinFast has shipped the first 999 units of its VF8 electric SUV to the US, marking a major milestone. The automaker held a ceremony to mark the export of the first batch of VF8s to the country. The EV models are expected to arrive in California within about 20 days of being deported from Vietnam. The first US customers are expected to receive orders by the end of 2022.
The VF8 and VF9 electric cars made their debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year. VinFast has vowed to quickly stop producing petrol-powered models. It delivered its first locally produced electric vehicle in Vietnam in December 2021.
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The automaker claimed to have received 24,000 orders worldwide within 48 hours of opening pre-orders, paving the way for Vietnam to become one of the few countries producing all-electric vehicles. In the next batch, the automaker aims to ship about 5,000 electric vehicles to the U.S., Canada and Europe starting in November.
The automaker also recently launched the VF6 and VF7 electric models, hoping to become an EV maker for everyone in the B, C, D and E car segments.
Electric car maker VinFast already has a U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles and a research and development center in San Francisco. It will start production in the US in July 2024. VinFast’s planned investment totals up to $6 billion, and the plant is the first phase of the electric carmaker’s broad plans for the United States. The factory will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 electric vehicles, and will gradually have the ability to produce electric buses and batteries.
First published date: Nov 28, 2022 at 17:56 PM CST
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