CN+R Staff Report, Chatham News + Record
The Vietnamese electric car manufacturer shipped its first 999 EVs to the United States Monday. VinFast executives called the shipment “a significant event” and a “historical milestone” for the company.
Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairman and CEO of Vingroup, said he hopes this shipment is the first of many as the company attempts to break into the global EV market.
The company held a large celebration as the vehicles were loaded onto the ships headed across the Pacific Ocean including patriotic music, dancers, flags and a visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
VinFast, which is building a 1,700+ acre facility in Moncure, said the vehicles should arrive stateside in about 18 business days. This means the first U.S. customers can expect to drive their cars by the end of 2022, VinFast said. Those first customers are largely based in California where the company has six showrooms across the state and is planning three more.
Across the country, close to 17,000 orders have already been placed for a variety of models, VinFast said.
WATCH: A Vietnamese auto maker VinFast is sending its first shipment of EVs to California — a first step toward cracking the EV market in the U.S. https://t.co/nbsPJijJ6O pic.twitter.com/tY94Tbem56
— Bloomberg Green (@climate) November 28, 2022
N.C.’s first car manufacturer will continue to build vehicles in Vietnam and ship them overseas until the Chatham facility is operational, which is expected to be by the summer of 2024. VinFast then plans to produce 200,000 electric SUVs each year in Chatham by 2027.
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