VinFast Rolls Out Long-Awaited Electric SUVs, Eyes Overseas Deliveries

Vietnamese carmaker VinFast said on Thursday it will begin delivering its new electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to local customers this week and targets overseas deliveries in the coming months.

VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers with its two electric SUV models.

"After Vietnam, VinFast expects to export the first batch of VF9 to international markets in the coming months," VinFast said in a statement, without providing a specific timeline for deliveries of the new model.

The VF9 model was initially scheduled to debut at the beginning of this year.

The company currently sells the VF8 model of SUV. It started to ship those last year and began delivering them to customers this month. The company has said it would ship the second batch to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2023.

VinFast, backed by Vietnam's biggest of conglomerate Vingroup JSC, is the country's sole EV maker.

As of December last year, VinFast said it secured 55,000 orders globally, of which 12,000 were from the U.S. market.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen)