VinFast, the Vietnamese electric automaker that chose nearby Moncure for its $4 billion manufacturing plant nearly one year ago, announced this week that it is delaying its operation plans to build in North Carolina until 2025.
First reported by Reuters on Friday, the company said in a statement that it needs more time “to complete administrative procedures” and did not specify when in 2025 it would begin operations. VinFast was awarded an Air Permit from local authorities in February and is still waiting for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with environmentally friendly plans.
On March 29, 2022, the company’s CEO and other executives stood side-by-side with Gov. Roy Cooper and state officials to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish its first North American manufacturing plant at the Moncure site, located just north of the Lee-Chatham county line along U.S. 1. VinFast’s factory will create a major manufacturing center in Chatham County’s Triangle Innovation Point megasite, covering an area of 800-hectares, with 3 main areas: electric cars and buses production and assembly, EV batteries production and ancillary industries for suppliers.
Phase 1 construction was initially expected to start late last year with production expected to start in summer 2024. The company expects to produce 150,000 vehicles per year as part of Phase 1.
More than 7,500 jobs are expected to be added once the company is operational. Vehicles produced at the site will include VinFast’s VF9, a seven-passenger SUV, and the VF8, a five-passenger mid-size SUV.
Me don’t care