Vietnamese EV maker VinFast announced Friday it’s planning to hold its US listing next month. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave VinFast the green light to proceed with its proposed SPAC deal.
VinFast US listing planned for next month
After over a year of speculation, it became apparent VinFast was going public in the US this past December after filing the necessary paperwork with the SEC.
In May, we learned VinFast would go public through a business combination with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition Co worth roughly $27 billion (equity value of $23 billion).
The companies said they aimed to close the transaction in the second half of 2023, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
VinFast took a major step Friday after the SEC gave the EV maker the green light after declaring the registration forms effective. VinFast CEO, Madame Thuy Le, commented on the success, saying:
Today represents a remarkable milestone in advancing VinFast’s presence in the U.S. as we move towards our proposed U.S. listing. Along with this exciting step, today we also celebrate the start of construction of our electric vehicle (EV) factory in North Carolina.
Black Spade has a general shareholder meeting coming up on August 10, 2023, to approve the business combination.
The EV maker announced another big milestone Friday, with the construction of its first EV production facility in the US now underway.
Breaking ground on first US production facility
VinFast shipped its first batch of VF 8 electric SUVs to the US in November, arriving at the Port of Benecia in California 26 days later. After making quick progress in bringing its EVs overseas, VinFast has encountered several issues that have slowed its momentum.
Despite the electric models arriving on US soil in December, VinFast delayed the first customer deliveries until March, citing more time was needed for a software update.
op comment by FC Liked by 14 people
VF’s new factory ground breaking event happened here today in central NC just outside of Raleigh. I am very worried they will go broke before they finish the plant. Their first models they’ve released are a disaster. They have no brand recognition in the US, and their vehicles aren’t priced at a price that would undercut other comparable EVs by a drastic enough margin to make people think about taking the risk to buy from a foreign brand with no presence in the US.
VF has got to do a lot better with their future vehicles and fix the issues the VF8 has already shown to be plagued with before trying to sell more of them. I hope the State of NC’s huge incentives package worth over $1Bn doesn’t end up being wasted for a failing auto assembly factory. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that if VF does fail, some other automaker would retool the factory and take it over much like Tesla did with the NUMMI plant in Fremont.
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Shortly after, the company delayed its timeline for its first EV production facility in the US. VinFast initially signed an MOU with the state of North Carolina in March to build its first North American EV facility and expand its manufacturing footprint in the states.
VinFast said it would invest up to $2 billion for the first phase of the site, with up to 150,000 annual vehicle capacity.
Phase one construction was initially expected to begin last year, but VinFast was still awaiting a permit. As a result, VinFast pushed production at the plant back until 2025, a year later than forecasted.
With the company breaking ground on Friday, VinFast’s CEO said, “These achievements will help accelerate our commitment to the global green mobility revolution.” Perhaps, more importantly, the US listing will also open “a strategic capital-raising avenue” for VinFast’s global ambitions.
