It was supposed to be "the crown jewel of VinFast’s global expansion." Now, the Vietnamese auto startup's $4 billion electric vehicle factory near Raleigh, North Carolina will not open until 2028, despite originally slated to be operating this month. The automaker blames "economic headwinds" and uncertainty in "the global EV landscape," but as with most things VinFast, there's more to the story than that.
On Friday evening, VinFast announced that it has "made the strategic decision to adjust the timeline for the launch of its North Carolina manufacturing facility," pushing that target date back a full four years. Construction is currently on hold at the plant, which was said to one day build the three-row VinFast VF9 and five-seat VinFast VF8 electric SUVs.
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VinFast is an ambitious but troubled EV startup
Vietnam is new to the world of making cars and VinFast represents its highest ambitions. However, critics say it may have attempted to expand globally too quickly without products that were truly competitive, and the company has been accused of various financial improprieties as well.
"We have adopted a more prudent outlook that is carefully calibrated to near-term headwinds, taking into full consideration the realities of market volatility and potential challenges," Madam Thuy Le, Chairwoman of VinFast's Board of Directors, said in a news release. "Our robust long-term strategy and proven execution capabilities position us well to meet the evolving needs of the dynamic global EV market."
Gallery: 2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition: First Drive
While it's certainly true that the global EV transition is more complex, costly and difficult than most automakers and governments had anticipated, and demand is proving to be uneven worldwide, VinFast has faced more headaches than mere economic uncertainty. The automaker has faced a slew of negative early reviews, allegations of impropriety in its home country, an investor lawsuit in the U.S. and serious quality issues as it seeks to be a major player in the space.
VinFast emerged almost out of nowhere in recent years as the automotive arm of Vingroup, one of Vietnam's largest privately owned companies and a conglomerate with interests in smartphones, hospitals, hotels, retail and more. Founded in 2017, it originally made gas-powered cars with help from General Motors and BMW before pivoting to EVs. It has since attempted a rapid global expansion and is deploying a lineup of electric cars at a record-setting place.
Gallery: 2024 VinFast VF9
Key to those ambitions is the U.S. market, which necessitated American production. The North Carolina factory was originally set to be a 995,500-square-foot facility aimed at bringing 7,500 jobs to the region in service of building 150,000 EVs per year. For such an ambitious plan, it was awarded some $1.2 billion in state and county incentives over the next few decades.
However, as the Carolina Journal noted in a report this spring, construction had been paused at the site after VinFast submitted a new plan to Chatham County's government in December indicating the site would be considerably smaller. This change of plans led the county to review the permit request. "No construction is being done until this permit revision is issued," a county official said at the time.
Meanwhile, VinFast's sole offering currently for sale in the U.S., the VF8, has received unprecedentedly scathing reviews for a modern car. Critics dinged its ride quality, user experience, handling and price tag; InsideEVs' first drive test was merely headlined "Yikes." The company has since relied mostly on influencer and social media marketing to reach American buyers. Globally, it still claims to have delivered 12,058 vehicles in the second quarter of this year alone and is on target to more than double last year's sales to 80,000.
But that claim comes with some caveats. VinFast has been accused of "selling" most of its cars to a taxi service owned by Vingroup. And as InsideEVs reported earlier this year, some critics of the automaker in Vietnam have faced detention from the police, under a law that punishes those who "infringe upon the interests of the state, organizations, and individuals.”
Gallery: 2025 VinFast VF3
Still, VinFast continues to debut new models, including the electric $9,000 VF3 city car that first appeared at CES. The company is either beginning sales or starting its expansion into Thailand, the Philippines, Europe and the Middle East. But it's looking more and more like perhaps VinFast should've led with that vehicle and those markets before seeking to take the U.S. by storm.
That's going to be years away now, if it ever happens at all, especially since current U.S. rules prioritize incentives for EVs built in North America. Meanwhile, the taxpayers of North Carolina—who were also promised thousands of new manufacturing jobs—are the ones left in the lurch. As the Carolina Journal notes, the state's Transformative Job Development and Investment Grant "has had a terrible track record" with most incentive recipients pulling out of their agreements with the state.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
