Vietnamese startup VinFast is moving ahead with a U.S. manufacturing plan — and thinking big.
According to a report from the News & Observer, VinFast plans to ultimately spend more than $4 billion to open an assembly plant in North Carolina that will create about 7,500 jobs by 2027. The initial investment will be $2 billion, according to a statement issued by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
The company eventually plans to build 200,000 or more vehicles a year at the North Carolina plant, which the newspaper said will be located on a 2,150-acre site in Moncure, a 30-minute drive south of Raleigh.
The automaker has not begun selling vehicles in the U.S. yet.
“North Carolina’s strong commitments in building a clean-energy economy, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs,” VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in the governor’s statement.
“Having a production facility right in the market will help VinFast to proactively manage its supply chain, maintain stabilized prices and shorten product supply time, making VinFast’s EVs more accessible to customers, contributing to the realization of local environmental improvement goals.”
The CEO added: “We have started the design and are rushing to finalize the factory construction plan and target to start production from July 2024.”
The Tar Heel State is the latest Southeastern U.S. state to draw significant investments from the rapidly electrifying auto industry. This year, EV startup Rivian Automotive Inc. announced plans for a $5 billion truck plant near Atlanta.
Ford Motor Co. said it will build next-generation electric F-Series pickups and advanced batteries at an enormous new “mega campus” in Tennessee.
In Alabama, Mercedes-Benz is set to begin EV production at its 6 million-square-foot U.S. assembly plant, supplied by a new battery pack plant near its Vance assembly operations.
VinFast, part of conglomerate Vingroup, became Vietnam’s first fully fledged domestic automaker when its gasoline-powered models went on sale in 2019. It began selling EVs in Vietnam at the end of last year.
This year, the automaker seeks to crack the key U.S. auto market with a fleet of EVs, including two electric SUVs. Italy’s Pininfarina designed both.
U.S. pricing for the VF 8 starts at $41,000, excluding the battery, which must be leased. Pricing for the three-row VF 9 will start at $56,000, excluding the battery.
VinFast has big ambitions. In addition to its U.S. factory, the automaker is exploring sites for production in Germany. The automaker said in a statement that that factory would build VinFast electric cars and buses. The factory could build up to 250,000 vehicles a year, with production starting around 2025.