VinFast

Vinfast may not be an EV name you recognize yet, but there should be an emphasis on the “fast” part of its moniker. At a private event following the first day of the LA Auto Show, Vinfast’s Global CEO Michael Lohscheller spoke to a crowded room about the Vietnamese automotive startup’s progress in just four years, built off one of its core values – speed. In addition to debuting as a global brand with two upcoming electric SUVs, Vinfast announced Los Angeles as its US headquarters and shared plans to begin manufacturing on American soil in 2024.

A relatively young Vietnamese automaker is looking to bring its vehicles to the Western EV market with a goal to eventually sell between 160-180k of its EVs per year in the US alone. VinFast will begin this quest at this year’s LA Auto Show, where it plans to showcase two of its EV models to the public before opening orders for US and Europe in the first half of 2022. As if that wasn’t ambitious enough, VinFast is also considering an IPO in the US market.