Vietnam’s VinFast and the government of North Carolina have announced the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of VinFast’s first North American manufacturing plant. The company intends to invest up to $2 billion in the project’s phase 1, creating thousands of jobs at the new plant in North Carolina.
The site will cover an area of 800-hectares, with three main areas: electric cars and buses production and assembly, EV batteries production and ancillary industries for suppliers.
Construction for phase 1 of the factory will start in 2022 after a construction permit is granted and production is expected to start in July, 2024.
The capacity of phase 1 is expected to be 150,000 vehicles per year.
Vehicles to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a 7-passenger all-electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and the VinFast VF 8, a 5-passenger, all-electric mid-size SUV.
Recently, it started construction of a battery plant in Ha Tinh, Vietnam on a 8 hectare plot for phase 1, with a capacity of 5 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year.
The facility is expected to be fully installed and running at full capacity from late 2022.
Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chair and VinFast Global CEO, says: “North Carolina’s strong commitments in building a clean energy economy, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs. Having a production facility right in the market will help VinFast to proactively manage its supply chain, maintain stabilized prices and shorten product supply time, making VinFast’s Evs more accessible to customers, contributing to the realization of local environmental improvement goals.”
North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, adds: “North Carolina is quickly becoming the center of our country’s emerging, clean energy economy. VinFast’s transformative project will bring many good jobs to our state, along with a healthier environment as more electric vehicles take to the road to help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Headquartered in Hanoi, VinFast boasts a state-of-the-art vehicle production facility in Haiphong, Vietnam, that will have the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026.
Keyword: VinFast to Build First North American EV factory in North Carolina