Vietnamese Conglomerate Owner Of Vinfast, Wants To Compete Against Tesla's Dominance

JAKARTA – Vinfast, the VinGroup automotive unit owned by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong from Vietnam, has now launched its newest electric vehicle model. The model even began to be offered in all showrooms in North America and Europe in March next year. Vinfast is ready to challenge Tesla globally.

The company said it had recruited senior executives from major automakers such as Tesla, BMW, Porsche, Toyota, and Nissan in pursuit of its goal of becoming a global smart electric car company.

"With a smart electric car backed by VinFast's proven research and manufacturing capabilities, we believe that VinFast can be a competitive contender with today's leading US brands," said Jeremy Snyder, chief growth officer for Vinfast US.

Snyder is the former head of global business and development at Tesla, where he worked in various senior management positions for more than a decade through 2018.

Vinfast said the company has established branches across the US, Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands in preparation for the global launch of its new electric vehicle. The lineup will launch in October, with two smart electric car models VF e35 and VF e36 set to go on sale globally in March 2022, he said.

The company aims to sell 56,000 electric vehicles by 2022. But the target was cut to 15,000 units due to a global chip shortage, Reuters quoted Vingroup chairman Vuong, 52, as saying at the company's annual meeting last month.

In addition to auto manufacturing, Vuong has interests in real estate, retail, consumer electronics, and healthcare through Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate by market value. He is ranked first in Vietnam's richest person with a net worth of US$7.3 billion, according to the World Billionaires List published in April.