VinFast ships first EVs to the U.S.

The Inflation Reduction Act, as currently written, requires automakers to have 50 percent of critical minerals used in EV batteries come from North America or U.S. allies by 2024, rising to 80 percent by the end of 2026.

Major automakers have said those targets are unrealistic and it was not immediately clear how VinFast would meet the sourcing requirements.

“The IRA came as a surprise to all of us but it doesn’t really impact our strategy in the U.S.,” Thuy told Reuters. “As soon as we start manufacturing cars in the U.S., our customers will be eligible [for] the tax incentive.”

VinFast said last week that Autonomy had ordered 2,500 EVs, its largest corporate order to date. VinFast has said it has almost 65,000 orders globally in total and expects to sell 750,000 EVs annually by 2026.

Behind schedule

The North Carolina factory project is running months behind schedule, based on the company’s initial targets, and the first shipment of EVs built by VinFast was short of the initial goal to deliver as many as 5,000 cars built at its factory in Haiphong by December.

VinFast officials said the number 999 for the vehicles shipped in the first batch had been chosen because it is considered a lucky number in Vietnam.

“There is no luckier number than 999,” Thuy said. The Panamanian-chartered transport ship used to send the first shipment of VinFast EVs had the capacity to carry up to 2,000 vehicles, officials said.