Vietnamese carmaker selects NC for its multibillion-dollar US manufacturing site

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Jalopnik

Everyone Seems Confused About Vinfast’s $2 Billion North Carolina Plant

Vietnam’s startup carmaker with some old BMW tech has had American plans for some time

By Raphael Orlove
An hour ago

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In any case, VinFast is a car company started up by a Vietnamese billionaire who got his start selling instant noodles out of Kharkiv, Ukraine in the early 1990s! That’s a weirdly topical connection.

Here is the main news on the new plant said to be coming to North Carolina, laid out by Automotive News:

According to a report from the News & Observer, VinFast plans to ultimately spend more than $4 billion to open an assembly plant in North Carolina that will create about 7,500 jobs by 2027. The initial investment will be $2 billion, according to a statement issued by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

The company eventually plans to build 200,000 or more vehicles a year at the North Carolina plant, which the newspaper said will be located on a 2,150-acre site in Moncure, a 30-minute drive south of Raleigh.

AN points out that VinFast wouldn’t be the first EV-forward startup to set its eyes on the South, with Rivian establishing itself in Georgia.

{snip}

BUSINESS

Vietnamese carmaker selects NC for its multibillion-dollar US manufacturing site

BY LARS DOLDER AND RICHARD STRADLING
UPDATED MARCH 30, 2022 10:38 AM

VinFast, a nascent automotive company from Vietnam, will build a multibillion-dollar production facility in the Triangle area for its new line of electric vehicles, North Carolina’s Commerce Department confirmed Tuesday.

The startup automaker will build a manufacturing plant at Triangle Innovation Point, a 2,150-acre “megasite” in Moncure. The unincorporated community in Chatham County is a 30-minute drive south from downtown Raleigh.

VinFast plans to build 200,000 or more vehicles a year at the plant, starting with the company’s five-passenger VF 8 mid-sized SUV and seven-passenger VF 9 full-size SUV. The site will eventually produce battery packs as well.

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LARS DOLDER
https://twitter.com/dldolder
[e-mail]
Lars Dolder is a business reporter at The News & Observer with a focus on retail.

RICHARD STRADLING
https://twitter.com/RStradling
[e-mail]
919-829-4739
Richard Stradling covers transportation for The News & Observer. Planes, trains and automobiles, plus ferries, bicycles, scooters and just plain walking. Also, hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak. He’s been a reporter or editor for 34 years, including the last 22 at The N&O. 919-829-4739, [e-mail].

[unc70]

1. Been all over the news here in NC

Will be the largest investment ever in NC. Will be in Chatham County, just south of Chapel Hill.

[mitch96]

2. With all these electric car mfg's coming out would it be time to invest in Lithium stocks? nt

[canuckledragger]

3. Invest in the next battery tech that comes along.

They're reaching the limit of how much power you can pack into lithium ion batteries, where the more you pack in, the more volatile it gets...leading to exploding batteries.

There's a reason those cell phones were catching fire in people's pockets...