It has been quite the roller coaster regarding the news surrounding Vietnamese automaker VinFast. While the VF8 CUV had a rough start to its launch in the U.S., the company focused on the long game and carefully made moves to secure its long-term future. One of these has finally produced fruit, with the company making its debut on the Nasdaq after completing its SPAC merger with Black Spade Acquisition.
Nasdaq Listing Puts VinFast In Strong Position
To fully understand what VinFast has achieved here, we have first to look at what a SPAC is, with firms like Black Spade being a shell company that raises capital to put in an IPO. This IPO is then used to help merge with a private company to help make it a public firm. In the case of VinFast’s deal, Black Spade reps valued the company at $23 billion in accordance with a filing that was submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June.
The deal will help inject VinFast with much-needed capital, and it comes on the heels of VinFast importing over 2,100 VF8 models to the U.S., with another 800 being slated for the Canadian market and the first wave of deliveries being done in March. We had a chance to drive the VF8 ourselves in California, and while the model did impress us with some of its comfort-focused features, the City Editions that the company had on hand that day also confirmed that VinFast rushed the CUV to our shores too fast, with the positives being outshined by numerous teething problems.
The company (which will now be known as VinFast Auto Ltd.) says it has since begun fixing some of these issues and confirmed that the rest of the VF8 lineup is currently being imported to our shores. VinFast Auto Ltd. CEO Madame Thuy Lei released a brief statement celebrating the listing stating ,
Vinfast has accelerated the global electric vehicle (“EV”) revolution by making smart, safe, and enviromentally friendly EV’s accessible to everyone. Today’s successful listing not only supports VinFast’s commitment to sustainable mobility ata global scale but also unlocks access to the capital markets and important avenues for future development. Further, it is our hope that VinFast’s listing will inspire and unleash greater opportunities for Vietnamese brands to participate in the global market.
Company To Continue Its Push Towards Global Presence
While the listing, as well as the groundbreaking of the company’s North Carolina plant, will help the company enhance its profile here on our shores, some of the capital from this move will also go towards enhancing VinFast’s global profile. The firm has a strong presence in its home country of Vietnam and is currently preparing to launch the VF3, VF6, and VF7 in international markets, including Vietnam. Some of these models will also come to the U.S. in the future, but it remains to be seen which ones will make the trip across the Pacific to our shores.
In the meantime, the aforementioned factory will begin operations in 2025 and has the capacity to produce 150,000 EVs a year. Madame Thuy Lei also addressed concerns that the company was being pressured to lower prices, with the CEO claiming that the strategy moving forward will continue to be “offering premium quality products at affordable pricing with excellent after sales service.” The pricing (at least in its current form ) appears to be a good window into this, with a base VF8 starting at $46,000, which is slightly less than the $47,740 Tesla asks for a base Model Y. However, the VF8 currently does not qualify for tax incentives here in the U.S. due to its overseas construction (the North Carolina facility will however help the company qualify.) As for the stock price, it opened at $22 a share and it has seen significant fluctuation since with the stock currently resting at $28 a share at the time of this writing.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.