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A VinFast electric car is tested in Hanoi.
Courtesy of Vingroup
An automotive manufacturer under Vingroup is testing an electric car in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to prepare for a rollout next year in the U.S. market. It’s the latest expansion by the sprawling Vietnamese conglomerate, which already operates in real estate, malls and resorts.
Vingroup subsidiary VinFast is testing its first electric model ahead of a display at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, according to a spokesperson for the group. VinFast’s model will target the U.S. market following the start of mass production in July 2021, the spokesperson says.
The car can travel up to 500 kilometers on a single charge. It uses battery cells made by LG Chem, one of the largest electric vehicle battery makers in the world and part of the South Korean conglomerate LG. VinFast’s car is designed by by Italian design firm Pininfarina.
Vingroup declined to reveal the price of the car and how much money the company invested to develop the car.
VinFast already sells three gas-powered car models in Vietnam, and Vingroup said in November its subsidiary had sold 30,000 e-bikes made at a 335-hectare plant in Hai Phong on an initial $1.5 billion investment. The factory has annual capacity of 250,000 units with sights to grow to a capacity of 1 million units.
With 2019 revenue of 130 trillion Vietnamese dong (about $5.5 billion), Vingroup started making cars in 2018 and is widely considered Vietnam’s first mass automotive producer. Vietnam’s wealthiest person, Pham Nhat Vuong, heads the conglomerate.
Worldwide electric vehicle sales is expected to reach 44 million per year by 2030, up from 5 million cars sold in 2018, energy research organization IEA says.