Earlier this year, on January 6, 2024, billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong officially transitioned from Chairman of the Board of Directors to assume the role of CEO of VinFast, replacing Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy. As CEO of VinFast, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong will directly manage its operations, including global manufacturing, sales, and marketing strategies.
The VinFast Board of Directors believes that Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong is the most suitable candidate for the global CEO position at VinFast due to his invaluable experience gained from founding and developing VinFast. Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong is also the leader of Vingroup, the largest conglomerate in Vietnam with market-leading enterprises in various industries ranging from industry, technology, real estate to services.
Immediately after the “succession,” VinFast continued to take “leaps and bounds.”
Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong’s steps as CEO
During the first 3 months of the year, VinFast expanded to markets such as India, Indonesia, the Middle East, and Africa…
In India, VinFast and the Tamil Nadu State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop green transportation in India. VinFast will invest up to $2 billion in India, with an initial investment of $500 million to be implemented within 5 years. On February 25, 2024, Vietnam’s leading electric car manufacturer, VinFast, officially broke ground on its first integrated electric car production facility in Tamil Nadu, India, expected to be operational in 2026.
In Indonesia, VinFast intends to invest at least $1.2 billion in the country in the long term. Alongside the distribution of imported vehicles from Vietnam in the initial stage, VinFast will invest $200 million to build an electric car production plant with an expected annual output of 30,000 – 50,000 vehicles in Indonesia. GSM also announced plans to invest up to $900 million in Indonesia in the near future.
At the same time, VinFast, GSM, and GoTo Gojek Tokopedia signed an MOU for cooperation in the field of electric vehicles in Indonesia. In addition, VinFast has signed an LOI (Letter of Intent) cooperation with the first 5 dealers in Indonesia and an MOU to supply 600 electric vehicles to 3 Indonesian companies: PT. Energi Mandiri Bumi Pertiwi, PT. Sumber Amarta Jaya, and PT. Teknologi Karya Digital Nusa Tbk.
In the Middle East, VinFast and Bahwan Automobies Trading LLC (BAT) have signed a sales agreement, with BAT becoming the official distributor of VinFast vehicles in Oman.
In Africa, VinFast recently announced a formal agreement with the Jospong Group of Companies, a leading multi-sectoral conglomerate in Ghana, to distribute electric vehicles in the Ghanaian and West African markets. Jospong will distribute VinFast electric cars, electric motorcycles, electric bicycles, and electric buses in the Ghanaian and West African markets.
At the end of this month, VinFast will participate in the 45th Bangkok International Auto Show (BIMS 2024) and officially launch the brand in Thailand. VinFast also plans to invest in the Philippines in 2024.
To boost sales activities, the company has launched a campaign to support Vietnamese users of electric vehicles with new preferential policies.
Specifically, customers who have purchased one of the company’s three previous gasoline models, Lux A2.0, Lux SA2.0, and Fadil, will receive a maintenance package worth 5 million VND for Lux vehicles and 3 million VND for Fadil vehicles within a period of 3 years. In addition, these car owners will receive an immediate 5% discount on the purchase price of any electric model.
For customers who want to buy electric vehicles during this period, VinFast offers a financing assistance package with a maximum term of 8 years, with the highest value being 70% of the vehicle price and attractive interest rates. The interest rate will be calculated at 5% for the first 2 years, 8% for the following 3 years, and 8.5% for the last 3 years. Any arising risks (such as higher floating interest rates from banks during the loan period) will be borne by VinFast.
According to VinFast’s calculations, customers can pay as low as 5.29 million VND/month for principal + interest to purchase one of the company’s electric car models, excluding the initial payment.
Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong establishes a new company using personal funds to reduce the pressure on VinFast
Recently, on March 18, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong announced the establishment of the Global Charging Station Development Company V-GREEN. V-GREEN’s goal is to invest in the development of a charging station infrastructure system to support VinFast’s rapid global expansion and make Vietnam one of the countries with the largest density of charging stations in the world.
V-GREEN is established by VinFast’s founder with a 90% ownership stake, separated from the company’s charging station development division. V-GREEN will operate independently as a partner in building a global network of charging stations for VinFast. The company will be responsible for investing in the entire electric vehicle infrastructure, thereby reducing financial pressure and providing support to VinFast for market expansion and sustainable development.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, CEO of V-GREEN, said, “The decision to establish V-GREEN is a strategic step by VinFast’s founder in providing strong support for VinFast’s sustainable and stable development on a global scale.” He also revealed that billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong used personal assets to establish V-GREEN, reducing the financial burden on VinFast and providing maximum support for the company’s development.
Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong has invested a great deal of money and effort into VinFast. In 2023, he sponsored over 20,600 billion VND for VinFast.