VinFast begins operating in North America and Europe after Australian office closure

Vietnamese automotive manufacturer VinFast is looking to increase its global recognition by opening offices in the United States and Europe, expanding worldwide with its range of electric vehicles.

Reuters reported the Vietnam-based company has plans to build a presence in California, while the manufacturer's parent company, VinGroup, confirmed some personnel have relocated from South-East Asia to North American ahead of the expansion.

"VinFast has set up representative offices in five international markets and will soon open showrooms in California," said VinGroup.

"VinFast USA's CEO has already relocated to the US from Vietnam recently."

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Holden's Lang Lang proving ground was purchased by VinFast for vehicle development

After recording 30,000 sales in Vietnam last year, VinFast initially planned to shift 56,000 electric vehicles next year – but had to reduce the target to 15,000 units thanks to the global semi-conductor shortage, currently causing major delays across the automotive and electronics industry.

VinFast had aimed at having a large presence in Australia by purchasing the ex-Holden Lang Lang proving ground in Victoria, and hiring around 100 ex-Holden, Ford, Toyota and JLR employees to head up its local research and development arm at its new Port Melbourne facility – Automotive Technology Institute 2.

However, a restructuring of the Melbourne office in May led to a number of redundancies and resignations, including former deputy CEO of product development, Kevin Yardley, as detailed by Bruce Newton in the July 2021 issue of Wheels.

Despite playing a part in the development of VinFast's three new models (VF E34, VF 32 and VF33), the company has no intention of selling its cars in Australia, instead focusing on other global markets to reach its sales targets and break even.