
A Vinfast vehicle on display ahead of the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. Photo: Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Vietnamese auto maker VinFast is delaying operation plans for an electric-vehicle factory in North Carolina until 2025, the company said Friday.
Driving the news: VinFast has promised to build a $4 billion EV plant in Chatham County that could one day employ up to 7,500 people.
- VinFast has been steadfast up to this point that it wanted to begin production here in 2024. The delay was first reported by Reuters.
- "Because we need more time to complete administrative procedures, VinFast's EV factory project in North Carolina is expected to start production from 2025," the company said in a statement to Axios.
VinFast has not yet started construction on its facility in Chatham County.
- In February, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality issued the company an air quality permit.
- But VinFast is still waiting on a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to minimized damage to water quality and wetlands, Reuters reported.
Why it matters: VinFast was one of the the state's biggest-ever economic development wins, when it picked North Carolina in 2022 for its first U.S. production facility.
- State and local governments have pledged more $1.2 billion in incentives for the company, if it meets hiring and investment goals.
- Around $250 million of the incentives would go to road and rail improvements to make the project possible.
State of play: VinFast, founded in 2017, delivered its first cars to California customers this month.
- But the company is entering an increasingly competitive landscape for EVs — especially as competitors like Tesla lower prices in response to new entrants.

Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Raleigh.
More Raleigh stories
No stories could be found

Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Raleigh.