Key Takeaways
VinFast has opened 12 new US dealerships, plans over 100 by 2024, to revitalize sales.
After Q4 2023 losses, VinFast switches to old-school dealership model to boost sales.
VinFast focuses on US expansion and production, plans factory in North Carolina for tax credit eligibility.
VinFast has announced it has opened 12 dealerships in the US in states like Texas, New York, Florida, and Kentucky. This brings the company’s US dealership network to 18, and the automaker asserts it should have more than 100 in the country by the end of 2024. First reported on by Automotive News, this development is a silver lining for the Vietnamese automaker, which has struggled with poor quality and sales since it delivered its first US vehicles during the latter half of 2023.
The company decided to switch to a dealership model late last year from a direct sales approach after finding it to be an ineffective way to sell its vehicles. The company has kept the direct sales approach in California, but depending on how the dealership model progresses, the company may soon be going old-school with its sales.
VinFast
Rough Q4 2023 Demands Change
Although these plans have been in the works, they couldn’t come soon enough as the company experienced a net loss of $650.1 million during Q4 of last year, bringing its full-year loss to $2.395 billion for 2023. This was a 14.7% increase over the company’s loss in 2022, but as they say, you have to spend money to make money.
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VinFast VF 8 Offers The Cheapest Lease In America
The company didn’t mention the reason for this deal but it should for boosting sales.
During Q4, the company’s sales had a 133% sales jump over the same period in 2022, and total revenue from 2023 jumped 91% from 2022. Despite the negative press, its models, like the VF 8 crossover, have seen sales slowly increase. During Q1, the company managed to deliver 9,100 vehicles, a 400% increase over the same period a year prior. That looks great on paper, but it’s worth noting that a majority of those deliveries were to a taxi company also backed by VinFast owner Pham Nhat Vuong, so the numbers are a bit misleading.
VinFast
The Company Has Big Plans For The US
With plans to expand to countries like Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, VinFast’s current focus is on getting its US sales and production arm up and running.
As of right now, the only vehicle the company sells here is the VF 8, but it’s already planning VF 6, VF 7, and VF 9 crossover models. Concepts for a tiny VF 3 crossover, as well as a pickup truck, have also recently been unveiled, so it’s obvious the company isn’t wasting any time building out its fully electric lineup. The only issue as it currently stands is none of these models will be eligible for purchase with the $7,500 EV Tax Credit given their provenance in Vietnam, though they’ll still be eligible for the credit through a lease.
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The way the company plans to fix this is through a $4 billion factory that’s already broken ground in Chatham County, North Carolina. This will not only be the state’s first automotive plant but one of the biggest developments in the state’s history, as the company says full capacity can reach 150,000 vehicles a year and will create over 7,500 jobs over the next decade. Once finished in 2025, all of these vehicles will be eligible for the tax credit, making the $47,000 VF 8 a much more attractive option. Let’s hope the quality gets to be just as good.
VinFast