HANOI (AFP) – Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast will receive USD3.5 billion in new funding, the majority from its chief executive officer (CEO) Pham Nhat Vuong, parent group Vingroup said yesterday, as it struggles to break into the international market.
VinFast – Vietnam’s first homegrown car manufacturer – is aiming to compete with global EV giants such as Tesla.
It debuted on the Nasdaq in August 2023 at USD10, hitting headlines around the world as its valuation skyrocketed and then crashed. It was sitting at USD3.89 at Monday’s close.
Yesterday, Vingroup said in a press release that it plans to lend VinFast up to USD1.4 billion by the end of the year.
Vuong will also inject USD2.1 billion into the EV maker, it said, after he gave USD1 billion in April.
The move aims “to provide VinFast with sufficient financial resources to fund operations, investments, and other obligations”, the group said in a statement.
The goal is also to achieve the break-even point and cash flow balance by the end of 2026, the statement added.
VinFast said in the first 10 months of the year, it delivered 51,000 EVs to the domestic market. The company has continued “to expand its business in the US, Canada, and Europe, while rapidly penetrating new markets such as the Middle East, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India,” but did not provide further details on EVs sales there.
The company reported net losses of more than USD2 billion last year.
Vuong, Vietnam’s richest person, was appointed CEO of VinFast earlier this year. He is also chairman of the parent firm Vingroup.
The firm set a target of delivering 100,000 EVs in 2024.
