Vietnam-based VinFast and the government of North Carolina signed a 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.

VinFast’s factory will create a major manufacturing center in Chatham County’s Triangle Innovation Point megasite, covering an area of 800-hectares, with 3 main areas: electric car and bus production and assembly, EV battery 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. According to the MOU, VinFast will continue to invest in this factory in future phases.

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.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce coordinated the state’s recruitment of VinFast, which also involved state, regional, and local organizations.

Automotive assembly plants are incredible engines for economic growth, due to the positive ripple effects they create across a region’s economy. I’m so pleased that VinFast has decided to launch their North America manufacturing operations from our state, and we’ll work hard to make sure they find the skilled workforce they’ll need to grow and thrive in North Carolina.

—North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Hanoi, VinFast has a vehicle production facility in Haiphong, Vietnam, that will have the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026.

VinFast has established global operations in the US, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The company currently provides an ecosystem of EV products in its home country of Vietnam, including e-scooters, electric buses and electric cars, charging station system and green energy solutions.

The project in North Carolina affirms VinFast’s commitment in investing and developing business in its international markets in general and the US in particular. It will also ensure VinFast’s self-reliance in global manufacturing, the company said.

VinFast is the only premium Vietnamese car producer and has completed the construction, installation of its factory in Haiphong and developed its first three car models in just 21 months.

Recently, Vingroup 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.

Last November, VinFast announced the VF 8 and VF 9 (previously introduced as VF e35 and VF e36) at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. The EV maker also introduced three new EVs (VF 5, VF 6 and VF 7) at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which combined with the earlier models allows the company to serve all five major vehicle segments, from small crossover to large SUV.