Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong will sponsor an additional 1 billion USD for VinFast

On the morning of April 25, Vingroup Corporation (VIC) held the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders. The discussion between the presidium and shareholders was mainly about questions about VinFast.

A shareholder said that many people wonder how long the group’s potential can “carry” VinFast when this car brand suffers prolonged losses.

In response, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong – chairman of Vingroup, said that doubting VinFast’s capacity or cash flow is unfounded. “Up to now, the bank has not missed a penny in interest, not to mention the principal,” Mr. Vuong said.

However, he also admitted that making electric cars is very difficult. “This is a very big job. It’s not easy and it’s not our turn to do it,” Mr. Vuong said.

But the billionaire is more optimistic as “the most difficult time has passed, the market has recovered”. When looking at VinFast’s car sales, we will see an improvement in sales, becoming the brand with the largest sales in Vietnam for the first time.

In front of shareholders, Mr. Vuong also revealed that he wants VinFast to be “top” in the world and that he will personally continue to arrange assets to sponsor VinFast another 1 billion USD.

“Vinfast is the mission, honor and future of Vingroup, so we will never let go of Vinfast,” Mr. Vuong emphasized.

Vingroup Chairman also told shareholders “There is no such thing as electric cars going out of fashion, this is a sustainable trend that cannot be reversed.” In particular, battery costs are getting cheaper and cheaper, electric cars are as competitive as gasoline cars.

As for the Vietnamese market, Mr. Vuong is also confident that VinFast can compete strongly with gasoline cars because electric cars are “stronger and smarter”.

Meanwhile, electric vehicles make an important contribution to making the city cleaner, according to Mr. Vuong.

He will personally spend 10,000 billion VND in the next 3 years to build charging stations. This move is mainly to solve the mental problem, because most people travel less than 100km/day and can completely charge at home.

Also according to Mr. Vuong, battery costs are getting cheaper because of technology, electric cars can completely compete with gasoline cars in other markets.

“VinFast expects that by 2026 it will be able to tie EBITDA and gradually become profitable,” Mr. Vuong replied when shareholders asked when the electric car brand would stop losing money.