Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, said on December 12th that it had begun building a battery factory for its VinFast electric vehicle business with an investment of US $174 million, allowing the company to have its own battery supply chain, according to foreign media reports.
The new battery factory is Vietnam's first electric vehicle battery project, and (Ha Tinh), located in the central province of Hejing, covers an area of 8 hectares. Thai Thi Thanh Hai, vice-chairman of Vingroup, said: "the new plant is the focus of VinFast's local supply strategy, which allows us to have our own battery and parts supply chain."
VinFast said its goal was to produce 100000 battery packs a year in the first phase and then increase its capacity to 1 million. The company did not elaborate on the time frame for the project, but the October report said the plant would start operating at full capacity in 2025.
VinFast said in an email statement that it is working with a number of partners to develop batteries, including StoreDot, Guoxuan Tech and Huineng Technology. At the same time, the company also focuses on internal research and development and is setting up research institutions to develop battery and charging technologies.
In 2019, VinFast's own gasoline model hit the road in Vietnam, making it the country's first fully mature carmaker. The company plans to compete for US market share by launching its first all-electric SUV, and launching a battery rental business in the US next year. Vingroup also said last week that VinFast would seek a US listing in the second half of next year.
