VinFast to roll out electric car deliveries in U.S. next month

Vietnamese electric vehicle producer VinFast said on Monday it will start deliveries to its first U.S. customers on March 1 from its California showrooms.

The EV startup, a unit of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, is accelerating its presence in the U.S., where it plans to build an EV and battery manufacturing complex in the state of North Carolina with an initial estimated investment of $2 billion. The facility is set to start production in July 2024.

The first batch of 999 VF 8 electric vehicles manufactured by VinFast, the first Vietnamese EV producer, arrived in the U.S. on December 20 as the vessel Silver Queen docked at the Port of Benicia in California.

The carmaker said test drives would be available in the same state.

Earlier this month, the Vietnamese startup selected U.S. Bank as its preferred provider of retail financing and leasing of its vehicles in the U.S., where it has also filed for an initial public offering.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, CEO of VinFast Holdings, said her company would also make deliveries to its first customers in Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands this year, following the U.S. market.