VLVOF - Electric vehicle maker VinFast to break ground on U.S. factory this week

2023-07-24 07:06:52 ET

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast ( VFS ) plans to break ground this week on a delayed factory in North Carolina. VinFast aims to be the first Vietnamese car brand to produce electric vehicles and the first to expand into global markets.

The auto arm of Vingroup, Vietnam's biggest conglomerate, said it will begin construction on the EV plant on July 28, with a $1.2 billion incentive package from the U.S. state. VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy expressed confidence in the auto plant's future despite having to push back the start of operations by a year to 2025.

VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy expressed confidence in the brand's future in the U.S. "We hope the construction of the factory in Chatham County will contribute to advancing the clean-energy economy in the U.S.," she said. VinFast landed a $1.2B incentive package from North Carolina to set up manufacturing in the state. VinFast expects the production site in North Carolina to have an annual capacity of 150K vehicles and serve the North American market.

VinFast plans to list shares in the U.S. via a SPAC merger with Black Spade Acquisition ( BSAQ ), a special purpose acquisition company founded by Macao casino legend Lawrence Ho. Last month, Black Spade Acquisition ( BSAQ ) transferred the listing of its units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants to the NYSE American Exchange from the New York Stock Exchange. The company said the decision to transfer to the NYSE American was motivated by several factors, including more favorable thresholds for continued listing on the NYSE American following potential redemptions of the company's Class A ordinary shares in connection with the vote to extend the deadline by which the company must complete its initial business combination. The SPAC's trust has $29M remaining after shareholders redeemed $147M worth of shares, per a recent SEC filing . VinFast has until July 20, 2024, to complete a transaction.

VinFast, which is a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, completely transitioned from making traditional gas-powered cars to electric vehicles in 2022. Competitors include BMW Group ( OTCPK:BMWYY ), BYD Company ( OTCPK:BYDDY ), Daimler ( OTCPK:DTRUY ), Ford Motor Company ( F ), Groupe Renault ( OTCPK:RNSDF ), Honda Motor ( HMC ), Tata Motors, Tesla ( TSLA ), Volkswagen ( OTCPK:VLKAF ), and Volvo Car ( OTCPK:VLVOF ).

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