VinFast opens first EV showrooms on Tesla’s California doorstep

Shoppers walk past a VinFast’s flagship US store, as the Vietnamese electric vehicle is set to open its first overseas stores starting in California, in Santa Monica, the United States, July 2, 2022. (Photo: Reuters)

VinFast, an electric carmaker backed by Vietnam’s richest man, opened six showrooms in California on Thursday as the newcomer tries to muscle into a United States market dominated by Tesla Inc.

The showrooms are VinFast’s first outside of Vietnam. It plans to eventually open more than 30 in the state and elsewhere to sell directly to American consumers. US deliveries are due to start in the fourth quarter, Chief Customer Officer Craig Westbrook said in an interview at a new showroom in Santa Monica, just around the corner from a Tesla store in the same mall a few blocks from the beach.