Vietnam's VinFast to sell EVs in ASEAN with eye on 2025 profit

Vingroup's automaker also plans U.S. stock market float via SPAC

VinFast's booth at Future Mobility Asia 2023 in Bangkok. The Vietnamese EV maker is aiming to expand across Southeast Asia. (Photo courtesy of VinFast)

LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writer

May 18, 2023 15:08 JST

HO CHI MINH CITY -- VinFast's latest ambition is to sell electric vehicles across Southeast Asia, and it requires the Vietnamese company to cover new terrain: right-side steering.

The automaker, founded by Vietnam's richest man, will retrofit four of its EVs accordingly, VinFast said late on Wednesday from Bangkok. It did not specify which Southeast Asian countries it is targeting, but motorists in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei drive on the left side of the road, meaning steering wheels on the right side of the car are the norm.