During a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, the chief executive of a Vietnamese business intending to build a 7,500-employee electric vehicle factory in central North Carolina joined Gov. Roy Cooper and other dignitaries.
In Chatham County, some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Raleigh, VinFast announced last year that it would construct its first manufacturing site outside Vietnam.
According to news sources, the $4 billion investment would also build North Carolina’s first auto plant and be the state’s largest-ever job-creating economic development initiative. Over the years, other Southeastern states won the right to host automobile factories, leaving North Carolina out.
“We’ve wanted an automaker in North Carolina for decades, and you know, someone was watching out for us,” the statement reads. Cooper stated during the presentation on Friday, “We were just waiting for that EV market.
VinFast, a manufacturer of fully electric SUVs, plans to establish a manufacturing and assembly facility in 2025 with an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year.
The business has given the Chatham County government site blueprints and obtained county and environmental approvals to start working.
VinFast can receive incentives worth up to $1.25 billion from the state and Chatham County if it meets recruiting and investment requirements. The sum includes $450 million that was allocated by the General Assembly for plant-area infrastructure.
VinFast, a car firm that was only established in 2017, changed its focus two years ago to electric SUVs and sought out international markets. Since shipping its first batch late last year, the company claims to have delivered 350 of its five-seat variant to consumers in the United States.
“Our project represents a significant investment, and we’re proud to create thousands of jobs here in North Carolina, but we believe the recognition that we receive here goes beyond the figures and reflects the mutual ambition that we all are pursuing,” VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said at the ceremony.
The business said earlier this year that it will push out the commencement of production in Chatham County from 2024 to 2025. Although a corporate leader recognized that their initial timeframe had been ambitious, the company is still committed to building.
