Vietnam’s VinFast caused quite a stir when its stock value placed it as the world’s third most valuable carmaker in late August, shortly after going public on Nasdaq via a SPAC merger.
At the time, VinFast’s market capitalization exceeded $191 billion, briefly surpassing major automakers like Volkswagen Group and General Motors, but the stock has since plummeted.
VinFast shares lost nearly 90 percent from a high of $82 in late August, dropping below $10 this week. Still the company’s valuation remains high at $19 billion, placing it above established automakers like Nissan, Renault, or Volvo Cars.
The stock received a boost this week after VinFast announced its third-quarter results, which included increased deliveries and revenues. The company delivered 10,027 electric vehicles from July through September, up 5.2 percent from the 9,535 EVs delivered in the second quarter. In the same period a year ago, VinFast had only delivered 153 EVs.
It’s important to note that the vast majority of the vehicles delivered in Q3 2023 went to customers in Vietnam. The automaker does not break down how many vehicles it sold in its home market, and how many were shipped overseas. However, it did say it had “started to see a sales increase in September North America, particularly in Canada.”
In the first six months of the year, only 137 VinFast VF8 SUVs were registered in the US, according to automotive data provider S&P Global Mobility (via CNBC).
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The automaker said it maintained its target to reach global deliveries of 40,000-50,000 vehicles this year, even though it has only shipped a total of 21,000 in the first nine months. Last year, the company delivered 7,400 EVs, all in Vietnam.
VinFast also delivered 28,220 e-scooters during the latest quarter, up 177.2 percent over the 10,182 units delivered in the second quarter, and 112.9 percent more than the 13,253 e-scooters it delivered a year ago. The automaker said that as of September 30, it had 126 showrooms globally for EVs and 247 showrooms and service workshops for e-scooters.
Total revenues grew by almost 160 percent to $342.7 million (8.25 trillion Vietnamese dong) in the third quarter; the growth was only 3 percent over the previous three months, though. Vehicle sales represented $319.5 million of revenues.
Overall, VinFast has lost more than $1.4 billion in the first three quarters, including $623 million in the third quarter alone. The EV maker only had $131 million in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30.
However, the company said on October 5 that it expects to receive $1.2 billion from billionaire owner Pham Nhat Vuong and major shareholders in the next six months, as reported by Financial Times. Vietnam’s richest man pledged earlier this year to provide $2.5 billion to the company through grants and loans to help increase production.