Vinfast needs to slow down

Startups are famous for moving quickly. Vinfast may want to slow things down.

It was only 2019 when the Vietnamese company built its first cars, rebodied versions of gasoline BMWs that became hits in its home market. Vinfast speedily developed four electric SUVs, including the inaugural VF8 that SAE Media drove in southern California. At the same time, a cargo ship docked near San Francisco, carrying nearly 2,000 VF8s for customers in California and Canada. The next day, Vinfast announced plans to go public via a SPAC merger. And Vinfast recently broke ground on a $4 billion factory in North Carolina, targeting 150,000 units of annual capacity and more than 7,000 jobs.