Developing a green economy, a circular economy, green growth in the industry, and using green energy and green materials to promote sustainable development are the Government’s goals to fulfill its international commitments to a carbon emission reduction economy in Vietnam. For the automobile manufacturing and assembly industry, Vietnamese corporation Vingroup has pioneered the transformation from the production and assembly of gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles to catch up with the trend with its VinFast brand. We have an interview with Mrs. LE THI THU THUY, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup, and Global CEO of VinFast.
Mrs LE THI THU THUY: Electric vehicles are the future, given that environmental protection has become a pressing global issue. Amid this trend, it is advantageous that Vietnamese people are increasingly keen on environmentally friendly transportation solutions and are willing to open their wallets to buy electric vehicles.
Along with consumer acceptance, the Government has issued some policies to promote the transition process towards its net-zero goals by 2050, such as waiving the registration fee for electric cars.
However, Vietnam’s electric vehicle market faces many challenges when this type of green and smart vehicle is still new. It takes time for consumers to get used to using new features and technologies, as well as changing their habits from refueling to charging.
VinFast owns one of the leading automobile factories in Southeast Asia, with an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles in the first phase and the potential to boost capacity to 950,000 vehicles in the upcoming years, subject to market demand. The acceptance of local customers has been a great motivation for VinFast to develop in the homeland and in the international market. However, the electric vehicle race is “without borders”, with equal opportunities for all car brands. It is the reason why VinFast decides to venture into the global market while developing in the local market, taking advantage of the opportunity and challenging ourselves, thereby securing a strong footprint in the global market. This direction is aligned with VinFast’s initial goal of becoming a global smart electric vehicle brand.
Absolutely, it will be more challenging, but we believe that the support of Vietnamese people, coupled with good products at affordable prices and good after-sale services, will help us overcome this competition. In addition, VinFast’s advantages lie in its comprehensive ecosystem of charging stations and services, as well as the support of the Vingroup ecosystem for car buyers, so we are confident in convincing users of the quality of our products and services.
In addition to mini electric cars, VinFast will roll out the VF 6 and VF 7 models in the B-SUV and C-SUV segments this year, thereby completing the electric vehicle lineup covering the five most popular segments in the market. In the future, subject to market demand, we will develop suitable models to suit tastes, such as pickup trucks. VinFast’s models aim to lead the market with increasingly high-technology content. Besides electric vehicles, VinFast continues to research, develop, and manufacture electric buses and e-scooters to meet the versatile demand of customers.
VinFast is running its main factory in Hai Phong, covering an area of 335 hectares with a total investment of $3.5 billion and being one of the largest industrial projects in Vietnam. VinFast’s automobile manufacturing complex in Hai Phong has a capacity of 250,000 vehicles per year in the first phase. By 2026, the capacity is projected to quadruple to 950,000 cars per year. In 2023, the factory will maximize resources, constantly upgrade technology, optimize production processes, and build workshops to meet market demand.
For such a large and modern factory, of course, we must invest in battery factories. Besides the projects in Ha Tinh, we also have the VinES battery factory in Hai Phong, which has officially started production. Meanwhile, the VinES battery factory in Ha Tinh is ramping up assembly for the final items and running tests, which will go into production in June 2023. In addition, the VinES and Gotion joint venture battery production factory broke ground in November 2022 and is scheduled to start production in the third quarter of 2024, becoming the first-ever LFP (Lithium Ferrous Phosphate) battery cell production facility in Vietnam. Once completed, the factory will provide the sufficient volume of battery cells necessary for VinFast’s LFP-powered electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS).
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