Vietnamese EV maker VinFast ships first batch of VF8 EVs to the US

Vietnam's home-grown electric vehicle maker VinFast has hit a major milestone by shipping the first batch of 999 VF8 electric SUVs to the US. The automaker held a ceremony, marking the first batch of VF8 exports to the country. The EV models are expected to arrive in California in about 20 days after deporting from Vietnam. The first US customers can expect to receive orders by the end of 2022.

The VF8, along with the VF9 electric vehicles made their grand debut at the LA Auto show last year. VinFast has vowed to end the production of gas-powered models rapidly. It delivered its first locally produced EV in Vietnam in December 2021.

The automaker claimed to have received 24,000 orders globally within 48 hours of opening reservations, paving the way for Vietnam to become one of the few countries producing fully electric vehicles. In its next batch, the automaker aims to ship about 5,000 EVs to the US, Canada, and Europe, starting in November.

The automaker also recently debuted the VF6 and VF7 electric models, hoping to become the EV manufacturer for everyone with models in B, C, D, and E auto segments.

EV maker VinFast already has its US headquarters in Los Angeles and an R&D center in San Francisco. Itis set to begin production in the US from July of 2024. VinFast's investments plans combine to as much as $6 billion and this factory is the EV maker's first phase of an extensive plan that it has in store for the US. The factory will have a capacity of 1,50,000 electric cars annually, and will also gradually be equipped to manufacture electric buses and batteries.