By Hyunjoo Jin

SAN FRANCISCO – VinFast is a Vietnamese automobile maker that plans to produce electric vehicle batteries and packs at its U.S. plant, the global chief executive of VinFast told Reuters Wednesday.

VinFast is part of Vingroup JSC and was previously stated as the biggest conglomerate under Communist rule. It had said that it would begin producing electric cars in America in 2024’s second half.

VinFast has its eye on the U.S., and plans to introduce affordable electric sport utility cars late in this year using its battery-leasing models.

Le Thi Thu Thuy is Vingroup vice chairman and VinFast Global chief executive officer. She added that the company would continue to source its batteries from suppliers.

She stated that it will begin by assembling battery packs from cells supplied to the U.S. facility, before moving on to producing its own products there.

During her U.S. trip to Las Vegas to visit the Consumer Electronics Show, she stated that “we have reduced from I believe, more than 50 sites to only three sites.”

She’ll visit some places on her travels before making her decision.

Vingroup revealed that they had begun construction of a Vietnam battery cell plant so Vinfast could own the supply chain. It plans to first produce 100,000 packs of battery cells per year, with investments totaling $174 millions. Then it will increase its manufacturing capacity to 1 million.

Vinfast, Vietnam’s first full-fledged domestic auto manufacturer, was established in 2019 with its petrol-powered cars. At the end 2021, it began to sell EVs in Vietnam.