Everyone Seems Confused About Vinfast’s $2 Billion North Carolina Plant

Vietnam’s startup carmaker with some old BMW tech has had American plans for some time

By Raphael Orlove
An hour ago

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In any case, VinFast is a car company started up by a Vietnamese billionaire who got his start selling instant noodles out of Kharkiv, Ukraine in the early 1990s! That’s a weirdly topical connection.

Here is the main news on the new plant said to be coming to North Carolina, laid out by Automotive News:

According to a report from the News & Observer, VinFast plans to ultimately spend more than $4 billion to open an assembly plant in North Carolina that will create about 7,500 jobs by 2027. The initial investment will be $2 billion, according to a statement issued by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

The company eventually plans to build 200,000 or more vehicles a year at the North Carolina plant, which the newspaper said will be located on a 2,150-acre site in Moncure, a 30-minute drive south of Raleigh.

AN points out that VinFast wouldn’t be the first EV-forward startup to set its eyes on the South, with Rivian establishing itself in Georgia.

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BUSINESS

Vietnamese carmaker selects NC for its multibillion-dollar US manufacturing site

BY LARS DOLDER AND RICHARD STRADLING
UPDATED MARCH 30, 2022 10:38 AM

VinFast, a nascent automotive company from Vietnam, will build a multibillion-dollar production facility in the Triangle area for its new line of electric vehicles, North Carolina’s Commerce Department confirmed Tuesday.

The startup automaker will build a manufacturing plant at Triangle Innovation Point, a 2,150-acre “megasite” in Moncure. The unincorporated community in Chatham County is a 30-minute drive south from downtown Raleigh.

VinFast plans to build 200,000 or more vehicles a year at the plant, starting with the company’s five-passenger VF 8 mid-sized SUV and seven-passenger VF 9 full-size SUV. The site will eventually produce battery packs as well.

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LARS DOLDER
https://twitter.com/dldolder
ldolder@newsobserver.com
Lars Dolder is a business reporter at The News & Observer with a focus on retail.

RICHARD STRADLING
https://twitter.com/RStradling
rstradling@newsobserver.com
919-829-4739
Richard Stradling covers transportation for The News & Observer. Planes, trains and automobiles, plus ferries, bicycles, scooters and just plain walking. Also, hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak. He’s been a reporter or editor for 34 years, including the last 22 at The N&O. 919-829-4739, rstradling@newsobserver.com.