A worker operates the car assembly line at the new automobile plant of VinFast, Vietnam's first homegrown car manufacturer in Haiphong.

The company expects to begin delivering its first EVs in Vietnam starting in December, said Lohscheller, a former Volkswagen and Opel executive who was named to his position at Vinfast in July.

The automobile arm of Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup, VinFast has an office in California and expects to inaugurate 60 U.S. showrooms next year, according to Lohscheller's email with Reuter.

Founded in 2017, Vinfast is aiming to compete on vehicle size and price. The carmaker's vehicles will also come with a battery leasing scheme that means the cost of the battery, one of the most expensive components of an EV, will not be included in the final price.

Buyers can visit the website of VinFast or Vinfast’s showrooms and merchants nationwide to make a refundable deposit, valued at VND10 million, for each pre-order. A deposit will be refunded if orders are canceled.

VinFast is going ahead with its battery leasing plan which allows customers to rent out batteries separately from the EV.

The company has targeted global EV sales next year of 15,000 vehicles, down from its prior goal of 56,000 due to the global semiconductor chip shortage.

To fund its growth, Vinfast has said it is eyeing a public listing in the United States.

Lohscheller reveals "VinFast has a plan for an IPO in the U.S., but specific timing will depend on the market and other conditions. We will reveal more information at an appropriate time in the future."

Workers on a car assembly line at a new automobile plant of VinFast, Vietnam's first homegrown car manufacturer in Haiphong, June 14, 2019. Photo: AFP / Manan Vatsyayana

VinFast, the country’s first fully-fledged domestic carmaker, announced in January that it plans to launch its first electric vehicle in Vietnam later in 2021 and to start selling battery-powered cars in the US, Canada, and Europe by 2022.

The following month, it said California had allowed it to start testing its autonomous electric cars in the American state. It is believed VinFast intends to launch five newly-developed electric car models and three smart car models, only some of which will be sold abroad.

Vinfast has grand ambitions to launch EV sales in the U.S. and European markets next year, taking on Tesla and other automakers. Funding that plan is Vingroup, which was founded as an instant noodle business in post-Soviet Ukraine and now has interests spanning real estate, resorts, schools, hospitals, and smartphones.

“It is high time for us, for Vingroup and for Vietnam, to realize the dream of going global and put our name on the global map,” Pham Nhat Vuong, VinGroup’s founder and Vietnam’s first billionaire, said at the firm’s annual general meeting in mid-June, according to Asiatimes.

VinFast, with an assembly plant in Vietnam, is planning to conduct most of its U.S. sales online. Lohscheller said the company will "keep an eye on the possibility of a manufacturing facility in the U.S."

VinFast Lux SA2.0 debuts in Paris. Photo: VinFast

The company has targeted global EV sales next year of 15,000 vehicles, down from its prior goal of 56,000 due to the global semiconductor chip shortage.

To fund its growth, Vinfast has said it is eyeing a public listing in the United States.

The company has been working around the clock to build a network of about 40,000 charging stations across the nation by the end of this year.

VinFast, which is also producing electric motorbikes and buses this year, signed a contract to produce EV batteries with Taiwan’s ProLogium.

VinFast Chief Executive Officer Thai Thanh Hai highlighted her fervent opinion in early March 2021 that by providing top-quality vehicles with high safety standards and innovative technology, VinFast can win over the U.S and other abroad clients wary of buying an automobile from a Vietnamese company they don't know much about.

VinFast has just become the 57th automaker to receive a license to test self-driving EVs in California, US.

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