VinFast automotive company out of Vietnam estimates sales of about 50,000 electric cars in 2023, which would be a huge surge over 2022 sales. The company has made its EVs available in North America and will ship them to Europe.
Vingroup chairman and founder of VinFast Nhat Vuong went so far as to say that if all goes well, the company could break even by the end of 2024, which would be an epic feat. The car company sold 7,400 EVs in 2022, but it was only selling them in its home market of Vietnam. Vuong says selling between 40,000 and 50,000 cars this year is possible.
VinFast recently announced that it will hit the US stock market via a SPAC merger that will close in the second half of this year. Since then, it hasn't provided much of a future outlook, until now. In addition to Vuong voicing confidence in sales and an upcoming breakeven point, he also said the Vietnamese automaker aims to launch two additional models. While one will be a mini city car, the other will be an electric pickup truck.
Gallery: 2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition: First Drive
With all of that said, Vuong is well aware of the competition and the current economic crisis. He made it clear that the market will need to improve before VinFast, much like many other companies, can have notable success.
The EV maker enjoyed early donations of some $2.5 billion from Vingroup and Vuong himself. Vingroup had funded VinFast to the tune of some $8 billion by the end of 2022, though the automaker hasn't shown a profit. Clearly, in addition to the upcoming SPAC merger, VinFast will need to come up with ways to accumulate funds.
Vingroup shared in a recent written presentation that the upcoming stock listing will open up new global fundraising opportunities. More specifically, it pointed to opportunities for VinFast to benefit from global markets.
VinFast already started delivering its VF 8 EV to buyers in California in March. However, not only did it face delays, but the company also had to admit that the early cars wouldn't come with the estimated driving range that was previously promised. More recently, VinFast exported more VF 8s to the US with more range. The company aims to open a US factory in North Carolina in 2025.
