VinFast Delays Factory Opening In US Due To Slow Sales

VinFast VF8 and VF9. (Doc. VinFast Auto)

JAKARTA - The problem is coming back to the automotive manufacturer from Vietnam, VinFast. It is likely that they will delay the opening of a factory in North Carolina, United States (US).

Launching from Carscoops, Friday, May 31, it is stated that investments that cost US$4 billion (Rp64.9 trillion) will initially open this July, but will be postponed until 2025 and even have the potential to be postponed for the second time.

The construction of the factory was planned before the manufacturer started selling its electric vehicles in Uncle Sam's country in 2022. Unfortunately, this ambitious plan had to be postponed because VinFast had difficulty selling his vehicles in the US.

An unnamed source has explained the delay in this plan but it is not clear when the factory's operations will start. A spokesman in North Carolina revealed that the company had revised the plant size twice, which was last carried out in April and is still under review.

During 2023, VinFast only managed to sell less than 1,000 vehicles in the country with the capital Washington, DC.

Globally, VinFast is targeting sales of 100,000 units this year or twice as much as last year's achievement.

In the first quarter of this year, VinFast only sold less than 10,000 vehicles. The company said that the slow early business year phenomenon affected the sales of its vehicles. However, the company has expanded to various new markets, including Thailand and Indonesia.

VinFast is also building two new factories, one located in Batang, Central Java, Indonesia and another will be in India and operations will be opened in 2026.

In Indonesia, VinFast has marketed one of its vehicles, VF e34 for the Indonesian market. This crossover is priced starting from Rp315 million On The Road DKI Jakarta, but not including batteries in the country.

Manufacturers implement a battery rental system in this model in Indonesia at costs ranging from IDR 1.5 million per month to cover a distance of up to 3,000 km and IDR 2.6 million for a distance of more than 3,000 km.