Vietnamese automotive manufacturer VinFast has chosen North Carolina to host its first electric vehicle factory outside of Vietnam, Kallanish learns from the company.

The company says it will invest $2 billion in Phase 1 to produce 150,000 vehicles/year. The factory will be built in the Chatham County’s Triangle Innovation Point 800-hectare megasite. It will run production and assembly of electric cars and buses, EV battery manufacturing and ancillary industries for suppliers at the factory.

Construction is set to start this year, once a permit is granted. The first vehicles should roll off lines in July 2024, the company estimates, indicating further development will follow.

VinFast Global ceo Le Thi Thu Thuy explains in a statement that North Carolina’s commitments to a clean energy economy and transportation decarbonisation make it “an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs.”

Localising production in the US market will help the company to manage its supply chain, maintain stabilised prices and shorten product supply time, the ceo adds.

The young manufacturer is targeting a production capacity of 950,000 vehicles/year by 2026. In its home-country, VinFast produces and sells e-scooters, electric buses, premium BEVs, charging station systems and green energy solutions. It’s ramping up capacity at its first battery plant, to reach full Phase 1 scope of 5 gigawatt-hours/year in late 2022.

VinFast, which has developed three BEV models in 21 months, has pledged to become a global premium EV maker. It has operations in the US, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands, with first sales efforts focused in North America and Europe.