Vietnam’s electric vehicle maker VinFast plans to build an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery cell and pack facility in the US and an EV plant in Germany.
The move is part of the firm’s plan to launch phase three of its goal of reaching the global market.
VinFast made the announcement as it prepares to launch three new smart EVs: the VF e34 compact SUV for the Vietnamese market and the larger VF e35 and VF e36 for the global market.
There is speculation about the location in Germany, but to date there has been no confirmation despite Vinfast cooperating with Germany Trade & Invest, a company of the Federal Republic of Germany for foreign trade and location marketing.
The Vietnamese vehicle manufacturer’s German factory will produce electric cars and buses.
Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice chair and VinFast global CEO told media channels the company’s gigafactory would initially assemble battery packs with cells sourced from its supplier in the US complex before starting its own production there.
VinFast, part of Vingroup JSC, has narrowed three potential sites from more than 50 locations in the US.
Last September, the company announced plans for Vietnam’s first lithium-ion gigafactory could following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with electric drive train firm Gotion High-Tech.
The MoU focuses on the use of Chinese firm Gotion’s lithium iron phosphate batteries by Vietnam-based VinFast, and joint R&D and production of new battery technology.