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Vietnam's VinFast sends electric vehicles to first U.S. customers

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Posted at 2:57 PM, Nov 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-25 17:02:09-05

The Vietnamese electric vehicle-maker has shipped its first batch of EVs to the United States, the company VinFast said on Friday.

The company's 999 cars were shipped marking the end of a 5-year-long effort to get the cars into the U.S. market from its production hub in Southeast Asia.

VinFast will send cars to the North American and European market.

The company is in the process of putting a car manufacturing plant for EV vehicles in North Carolina, and is awaiting regulatory approval.

The company hopes for manufacturing to begin by 2024 and say its vehicles should qualify under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation required at least %50 of critical materials used in EV batteries come from North America or allies of the U.S. by 2024.

By the end of 2026, those critical materials need to comprise at least 80%.

While U.S. manufacturers have pushed back on those goals, the VinFast says that it won't really impact the company's sales strategy, Reuters reported.