VinFast’s loss widens in Q4, and sure to hit 2024 sales targets

Vietnamese electric vehicle, or EV, maker VinFast on Thursday said its fourth-quarter loss widened 3.4% from the previous three months but it aims to nearly triple vehicle sales this year as it expands into new markets.

VinFast’s net losses in the last quarter of 2023 reached $650.1 million, also 1.3% higher than the same period in 2022.

It plans to increase shipments to 100,000 units this year, compared to around 35,000 done in 2023, when it missed the target of 50,000 units due to slow EV adoption in some regions and increased price competition.

“This year, we are expanding internationally and we have all cars, including a right-hand drive model. So we are confident that we will achieve the guidance,” chairman Le Thi Thuy told Reuters after the earnings release.

Other automakers, by contrast, have scaled back EVÂ sales targets and scaled back investment plans due to weakening demand in major markets such as the US.

VinFast, which launched US sales in March last year with its VF 8 utility vehicle, relies heavily on domestic demand, with nearly 70% of its deliveries going to its Green SM, or GSM, taxi operator and service provider partners. for rent assisted by the CEO of VinFast. Pham Nhat Vuong.

Fewer than 1,000 units were sold in North America, Thuy said, adding that the new dealership will increase VinFast’s sales this year compared to its direct sales model.

Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $437 million, missing the average analyst estimate of $570.9 million, according to LSEG data. Full-year revenue increased 91% to $1.2 billion.

Founded in 2017 and manufacturing EVs since 2021, VinFast has announced several EV growth plans abroad. It is building a plant in North Carolina, which is expected to open in 2025, and plans its first manufacturing facilities in … India.

Thuy said the company is targeting “two big markets”, Indonesia and India, where it will implement a battery leasing program with customers paying a monthly fee equal to or lower than the cost of gasoline for similar vehicles.

“We hope to launch factories in India and Indonesia in 2026,” Thuy said, adding that until then his Vietnam factory could supply cars to the US and other markets.

VinFast’s market capitalization rose to $85 billion — higher than legacy. American car manufacturer Ford— after debuting on the Nasdaq in August, but has since fallen to $12 billion, with its entry into the US market accompanied by intense price competition led by market leader Tesla.

A stake in VinFast, backed by Vietnam’s Vingroup’s largest group were down 2.66% in market trading.

According to Thuy, after the blackout period ends on February 26, VinFast will begin the fundraising process as it looks to increase the number of shares available for public trading to 10-20% by the end of the year from around 2% currently. .