VinFast, Vietnam’s largest automaker, surpassed Ford and GM’s market value this week. VinFast share’s climbed to $37 per share (VFS) pushing its value to $85 billion.

Ford and GM are $48 billion and $46 billion respectively. As shares in VinFast climbed, it also made Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong richer by $39 billion. He owns 99% of VinFast through one of his conglomerates, Vingroup JSC.

The Low Cost Car

VinFast is an EV maker. The smart money in the auto industry is betting big money an East Asian automaker will pose a strong challenge to the domestic electric vehicle market.

VinFast’s latest stock market moves could aid them in securing the money needed to compete locally, but it’s a stiff climb. VinFast only shipped 11,300 cars in the first quarter of 2023. To get an idea how large the US auto market is, Tesla shipped 889,000 vehicles in the same time period. 3.4 million cars were sold across America at the beginning of this year.

Admittedly, VinFast makes a good looking car. It’ll be interesting to see how their future plays out. Today, they’re simply testing the waters. All of their dealerships are in California making it difficult to test their vehicles nationwide.

Here’s hoping VinFast makes something happen. More competition is a win for consumers when it comes to cars. Teslas have been coming down in price simply because more people have gotten serious about EVs and more manufacturers are thirsting after that money.

VinFast is pushing really aggressive deals to get drivers behind the driver seat. And we need more of that in the EV marketplace.

VinFast: BRING YOUR CARS TO DC.

-MJ