Construction has commenced on a US$173 million electric vehicle battery plant in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh Province.
The facility, which spans eight hectares is being constructed by Vietnam’s first domestic vehicle manufacturer, VinFast. VinFast is a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup – the largest company listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE: VIC).
In November, VinFast announced new plans to push into the lucrative U.S. EV market with a range of electric SUVs, while this year the company took domestic orders for its first ever EV, the VF e34. The first deliveries to Vietnamese customers are expected this month.
According to Bloomberg, VinFast’s new battery plant will have capacity to produce 100,000 Lithium battery packs annually.
VinFast U.S. IPO ambitions
With little brand power outside of Vietnam, VinFast is attempting to change that as the company prepares for a U.S. IPO in the second half of 2022.
It is hoping to raise $3 billion in the highly anticipated IPO, which would value the automaker at around $60 billion.
Analyst see big potential in the burgeoning Vietnamese EV market, along with the company’s amitious plans to compete in the US and Europe where it would go head-to-head with the likes of Tesla and Volkswagen.
In November, VinFast debuted a new electric SUV range for the North America and Europe markets at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
At the event the company also announced a $200m investment to establish headquarters in the U.S. and plans to commence construction of a U.S. vehicle manufacturing facility by 2025.
VinFast expects to take its first EV orders from North American and European customers during 2022.
The company is expected to report sales of around 35,000 traditional autos in Vietnam in 2021, with EV models to materially begin impacting its domestic sales figures during 2022.
Related: “We’ll be mass producing EVs in 2024” says Xiaomi