VinFast EVs charging outside a company showroom in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 10, 2024. Photo: Linh Pham/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast could once again delay the timeline of its planned $4 billion North Carolina plant, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: VinFast — which has pledged to hire more than 7,000 workers at the site — has already delayed its construction timeline from 2024 to 2025.
Between the lines: The report comes about a month after VinFast assured investors that the plant, about 30 miles southwest of Raleigh, was on track.
Yes, but: Little progress has been made at the site.
The company has downsized its plans and is waiting on necessary permits to begin construction.
What they're saying: VinFast is "conducting a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the construction process for our North Carolina factory," the company tells Axios — though it didn't confirm the Reuters story.
The big picture: Domestic interest in VinFast's vehicles, which are new to the U.S. market, remains low.
The company sold fewer than 1,000 cars in North America last year, a recent Hunterbrook Media investigation found.
More than 70% of the 35,000 vehicles it delivered last year were to companies owned by CEO Pham Nhat Vuong, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings first reported by Reuters.
