VinFast’s net loss widened to 14.1 trillion dong ($599 million) in the first quarter ahead of a bid by the Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker to go public in the US this year.
The company expects more operating and net losses in the near term as it scales vehicle production, sets up factories and pays for marketing, sales and servicing efforts, it said in a US regulatory filing.
Backed by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, VinFast plans to list in the US by merging with special purpose acquisition company Black Spade Acquisition Co. in the second half of this year. The deal, to be completed by July 20, would give VinFast an equity value of about $23 billion.
While VinFast has started shipping its battery-powered sport utility vehicles to customers in the US, it’s wading into an increasingly competitive market, with Tesla Inc. slashing prices and putting pressure on incumbents such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. VinFast is forecasting sales to reach 45,000-50,000 this year and has said it may produce electric pickup trucks, a mini car and other models — subject to market demand.
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Vuong’s push to prop up VinFast has been costly. Its parent Vingroup JSC, its affiliates and external lenders have deployed around $9.3 billion to fund the EV maker between 2017 and the end of March, according to the filing.
The company’s first-quarter result compares to a 9.7 trillion dong net loss in the year-earlier period. Last month, Vuong said VinFast could be profitable after 2025 if operations are “smooth” and break even by the end of next year.
The manufacturer also appears to have moved away from a time frame for production at its mooted factory in North Carolina.
In March, the company indicated production at the as-yet-unbuilt facility wouldn’t start until 2025. Now, it’s removed any time reference from its financial documents, saying only that pre-construction work started in the third quarter of 2022 and phase one is expected to have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, ramping up to around 250,000 vehicles a year upon completion of phase two — but giving no expected date for when that might be.
