The first electric cars were delivered in California: we’re talking about only 45 of the 999 that arrived in the US from Vietnam last year. VinFast, the car subsidiary of Vietnamese giant VinGoup (here you can find our insight into the country and its big tech), has dealt with severe delays. Eventually the cars made it to 9 stores in California. Founded in 2017, VinFast is among the most important companies of the Vietnamese group, which is thriving both in the United States (where it has serious investment intentions) and in Europe where it has already opened stores in Germany and France.
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Dealing with the US manufacturing market in general and the automotive market in particular will not be easy for VinFast and VinGroup. Along with rivals like Tesla, which sold more than 1 million cars globally last year, the Biden presidency has approved a so-called IRA — the Inflation Reduction Act — with a $350 billion plan. These are incentives, subsidies, and investments to maintain production chains on American soil and to attract foreign companies to establish themselves in the United States. State aid, which in the meantime is dampening the growth prospects of European allies.
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VinFast has placed great emphasis on automation, which today affects 90% of its production. Prices compared to Tesla are more competitive, but to reach the mass market, Vietnamese multinationals need to establish themselves more firmly in the USA. In this regard, work is underway to build a Gigafactory in North Carolina with an investment of $2 billion. According to VinFast, there are 12,000 pre-orders for its electric cars in the US.
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