HANOI -- Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast plans to ship its first EVs to Europe this year after receiving regulatory approval, its CEO, Le Thi Thu Thuy, said, as the European Union considers imposing tariffs on its Chinese rivals.
Under the plan, about 3,000 of its VF8 crossovers would be delivered to France, Germany, the Netherlands and some for Israel, in the fourth quarter from VinFast's factory in northern Vietnam, a person familiar with the plan told Reuters.
The source declined to be named because these details were not yet public.
Thuy did not indicate the number of VF8 SUVs to be delivered.
If fulfilled, Europe would become VinFast's biggest overseas market this year. The company had shipped about 2,100 EVs earlier this year to the United States.
VinFast has been forced to push back its European launch from the second half of 2022 because of the global shortage of semiconductors. The loss-making company repeatedly revises its targets.
"We expect to deliver the first VF8 models to French, German and Dutch customers in the fourth quarter of this year," Thuy said, adding the company's other models VF6, VF7, and VF9 would be launched in the European market next year.
Vinfast's push into Europe comes as the European Union is launching an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles amid fears that the market will be flooded with cheap imports from China.
Chinese automakers, including EV leader BYD, MG and Nio, are preparing to increase sales in Europe with a range of competitively priced EVs.
