VinFast hopes new mini-SUV EV will mitigate its financial bleeding

Vietnamese electric vehicle automaker VinFast is releasing the VF3, a $9,200, 10-foot-long mini-SUV electric vehicle (EV), in the Asian market as the company scrambles to mitigate financial losses after a dwindling expansion in the Western market. The new EV will first be available in Vietnam and the Philippines this year, with expansions into Indonesia, Thailand, the U.S. and Europe planned for next year.

Where to get it: The five-seater mini-SUV is available through Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Shopee for an initial deposit of $2,000. Hoping to sell 20,000 cars this year, VinFast has reportedly already seen 27,000 people place their orders since it began taking orders on May 13. Deliveries are projected to begin in August.
On-going struggle: To mitigate the financial bleeding, Vietnamese billionaire and VinFast founder and chief executive Pham Nhat Vuong invested $1 billion into his company in April, on top of its $11.4 billion financial injection as of December 2023. This move came nearly two months after the company reported a $2 billion loss following its Nasdaq debut in August 2023. “We will never let VinFast go,” Vuong told shareholders at Vingroup’s annual general meeting in April. “We are encouraging everyone to help build VinFast. Vingroup subsidiaries will also make contributions.”

Feature image screen shot via VinFast US

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