VinFast says that its U.S. production facility in North Carolina will now come online sometime in 2025. The delay of a year comes not long after the automaker said that job cuts wouldn’t slow the start of production. It’s only the latest challenge facing the Vietnamese company.
VinFast sells the all-electric VF8 City Edition SUV which has received less than stellar reviews across the board. Part of that might have to do with the incredibly low range compared to rivals. It could also be that pricing is a bit high and changes without warning at times.
Now, the brand says that it won’t be producing cars in the USA until 2025. The change is mentioned in the paperwork surrounding the car company’s planned US initial public offering. “Pre-construction work for phase one commenced in the third quarter of 2022, with commissioning targeted for 2025,” the filing said. Bloomberg reports that VinFast specifically cited needing “more time to complete administrative procedures” as the reason for the delay.
More: VinFast Begins U.S. Deliveries With 45 VF 8 City Edition SUVs To Dealers In California
A year might not sound like a huge deal in terms of a delay but it could be hugely impactful for VinFast. That’s another year of missing out on an EV tax credit that could prove incredibly valuable and the automaker knows it.
“The unavailability, reduction or elimination of government and economic incentives or government policies which are favorable for EV manufacturers and buyers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects,” it says in the filing. To put a clear point on it, VinFast is specifically concerned about the Inflation Reduction Act and how it could limit demand for its products.
Back in February, VinFast laid off some of its North American staff but also said that the cuts wouldn’t cause it to miss its 2024 production start goal. Maybe with a few more workers, VinFast could’ve gotten a few more of those administrative procedures completed. It sure sounds like it would’ve been worth it to get U.S.-built cars to market a bit sooner. Til then, it’ll just have to keep shipping them over here on a big boat.
