The car manufacturer from Vietnam is currently looking for suitable locations in Germany. He also wants to produce in the USA by the end of 2024.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Hamburg, San Francisco The Vietnamese car maker Vinfast is pushing ahead with its expansion and plans to build electric cars in the USA and Germany in the future. The still young company, which was headed by former Opel boss Michael Lohscheller for a few months last year, announced on Thursday the production of battery cells and packs for electric vehicles in a new production complex in the USA. Vinfast wants to decide on a “mega location” where both electric cars and electric buses will roll off the assembly line this year, said the new boss Le Thi Thu Thuy of the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the US technology fair CES in Las Vegas.
The carmaker, which only recently started selling battery-powered vehicles in Vietnam, plans to start producing electric cars in the United States at the end of 2024. Construction of a battery cell factory has already started in Vietnam. With a worldwide sales of 42,000 electric cars planned for next year, the company from Southeast Asia is still relatively small. For comparison: US rival Tesla increased by 87 percent to 936,000 vehicles in 2021.
Location search in Germany
Vinfast is also planning the production of electric cars and buses in Germany. When looking for a location, you cooperate with the Association for Foreign Trade and Location Marketing of the Federal Government. “The era in which cars were transported worldwide by ship is over, especially since Covid-19 was introduced,” explained Le Thi Thu Thuy. The factories would have to be close to the markets in order to attract customers. Vinfast wants to offer high quality e-vehicles and a special customer experience at affordable prices. “We are convinced that we will find a place in the European market, especially since the switch to e-vehicles in Europe is crystal clear.”
Other Asian carmakers, especially from China, have also set out to cut a slice of the fast-growing European market for electric cars. Companies like Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng have already put out feelers. Geely already has a mainstay in Europe with its daughters Volvo Cars, Lynk and Polestar.
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