(Reuters) – Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast is looking at further delaying a planned $4 billion factory in North Carolina, a person briefed on the matter said, as the loss-making company struggles to gain favour with U.S. consumers.
VinFast announced in 2022 that it would build an EV and battery factory in the United States with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, seeking to take advantage of the Biden administration’s efforts to approve subsidies for EVs made in America.
The company had initially planned to complete the factory in July 2024 but later pushed back the start of operations to 2025. It is considering another delay, the source said, asking to remain unidentified because the matter was not public.
VinFast, which sold fewer than 1,000 cars in North America last year, said in a statement to Reuters it was “conducting a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the construction process for our North Carolina factory.”
North Carolina’s Chatham County, where ground for the factory was broken in July, declined to comment about a possible delay.
A spokesperson for the county government said VinFast had twice revised the size of the factory’s general assembly building. The latest revision was submitted in April and is still being reviewed by the county’s permits department.
When VinFast announced in March 2022 its plans for the North Carolina factory, U.S. President Joe Biden said the plant would create more than 7,000 jobs.
“It’s the latest example of my economic strategy at work,” he posted on Twitter at the time.
As a Vietnamese EV maker with ambitious growth plans, VinFast faces the challenge of balancing aspirations with practical considerations.
Additionally, the potential delay provides an opportunity for the company to reevaluate its expansion strategy and address any underlying concerns.
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