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December 11, 2019 12:50 am

Vietnam's Richest Man Bets $2 Billion To Sell Cars To Americans

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The billionaire behind six-month-old Vietnamese auto startup VinFast plans a feat even Toyota and Hyundai couldn't pull off during their early days: sell a car in the U.S. Pham Nhat Vuong, the Southeast Asian country's richest man and now in charge of the new automaker, is so intent on exporting electric vehicles to the lucrative American market in 2021 that he's plowing as much as $2 billion of his own fortune to reach that goal. His cash would account for half the capital investment of VinFast, which began delivering cars to Vietnamese consumers with BMW-licensed engines earlier this year and aims to expand into electric vehicles. "Our ultimate goal is to create an international brand," the 51-year-old tycoon said in an interview at the Hanoi headquarters of the car company's parent Vingroup JSC, which Vuong founded and holds the title of chairman. "It will be a very difficult road and we will have to put in a lot of effort. But there's only one road ahead." [...] The tycoon, whose net worth is $9.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is undaunted. He sold some of his shares in Vingroup last year and plans to sell as much as 10% more to raise funds for the ambitious project. He owns 49% of VinFast, while the parent, Vingroup, holds 51%. [...] VinFast's first EV won't roll off its assembly line until late next year, but Vuong said he plans to export those vehicles to the U.S., Europe and Russia in 2021. VinFast, which operates a 335-hectare factory in the northern port city of Haiphong, is selling its first line of vehicles -- a hatchback, sedan and SUV -- at below cost. The hatchback retails for the equivalent of $17,000, while the four-cylinder sedan goes for $47,400 and its SUV is offered at $60,400. The company targets production of as many as 500,000 vehicles a year by 2025.

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