（Cover image source: Reuters）
According to Reuters, VinFast, the automotive arm of Vietnam’s largest private enterprise Vingroup and the first domestic automaker in Vietnam, plans to list in the United States with a target valuation of $60 billion.
Many people may not be familiar with this new force in Vietnam.
VinFast was founded in 2017 by a team of former General Motors executives. It is reported that VinFast has completed the design of three engineering prototype SUVs. The first model, VF31, will go on sale in Vietnam in October this year; the other two, VF32 and VF33, will also be SUVs, but larger in size, and will be available globally in 2022.
VF31 has features such as lane departure warning, blind spot warning, and door opening reminder. The updated VF32 and VF33 will use Nvidia’s Orin-X computing platform, combined with LIDAR, cameras and high-precision maps, to achieve L2-L3 autonomous driving. In February of this year, VinFast even obtained a license to test autonomous vehicles in California.
VinFast CEO Nguyen Thi Van Anh hopes that the two models will achieve an annual sales target of around 45,000 units in the US market.
VinFast’s models will adopt a battery leasing plan similar to NIO’s Bass plan to reduce selling prices.
VinFast’s production capacity at its factory in Vietnam can reach 250,000 vehicles annually to meet the needs of future car production. Last year, the annual sales volume in Vietnam was about 30,000 vehicles, but profits have not yet been achieved. Currently, the VF e34 electric car has received 15,000 pre-orders, priced at 690 million Vietnamese dong (approximately 29,800 US dollars).
Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest man in Vietnam and the owner of Vingroup behind VinFast, has promised to invest 2 billion US dollars in VinFast and plans to go public through SPAC. Once successfully listed, it will become the first Vietnamese company to be listed on the US stock market.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.