Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast cuts jobs in North America
The Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast appeared on the automotive scene two years ago, in order to break into the electric vehicle market in North America. Two vehicles will be offered initially, SUVs called VF 8 and VF 9. Both models should be sold in Canada a little later this year, our columnist William Clavey had the chance to take the wheel for a short period.
Thereafter, two other SUVs will be added to the lineup, the VF 6 and VF 7, the technical details of which were recently revealed.
Already cuts
VinFast spares no effort in order to succeed, the brand has invested more than 2 billion dollars in the construction of a factory in North Carolina in the United States. Eventually, VinFast intends to develop an entire complex there worth more than 6 billion dollars. The manufacturer is also omnipresent in the various Motor Shows, occupying disproportionate spaces. This was the case during the recent Montreal Auto Show, the brand is sparing no effort to demonstrate its seriousness.
However, we learn that the manufacturer has just cut 80 positions in North America, in addition to dismissing its head of financial operations on the continent. The cuts also affect Canada with about thirty positions abolished.
The manufacturer has confirmed to Bloomberg want to consolidate its activities in the United States and Canada under a single new group called “VinFast North America” with a head office in Los Angeles.
VinFast reiterates its important ambitions for North America, a first foray of the conglomerate outside its local market. The manufacturer had nevertheless postponed the first deliveries from December 2022 to January 2023 before pushing the deadlines again to the end of February.
VinFast was founded in 2017 by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, the company says it could deliver 1 million vehicles globally within 5 years.
Conclusion
Many manufacturers intend to take advantage of electrification to try to emulate the successes of Tesla, but not all will succeed. Will VinFast succeed in achieving this? The future will tell, but I strongly advise you to wait a while before leaving a deposit on one of their models, until the viability of VinFast is well established.
