VinFast delays Europe launch on chip shortage

Vietnamese automaker VinFast has been forced to postpone the European launch of its VF 8 and VF 9 electric SUVs to late 2022 or early 2023 due to a global shortage of semiconductors.

“Disruptions in the global chipset supply chain have impacted VinFast and European production and delivery schedules,” the automaker said. car news europe In an email reply to a question, it added it was working with suppliers to start exporting to Europe and Canada “in the coming months.”

The delay in Europe, where the brand will first launch in Germany, France and the Netherlands, comes as VinFast’s first shipment of 999 VF8 midsize SUVs left Vietnam last week for the United States.

According to VinFast’s statement, the VF 8 will be shipped to California and will be delivered to customers in late December.

Bloomberg reported that the company is considering an initial public offering in the United States as early as January 2023.

At this year’s Paris Auto Show, VinFast displayed four fully electric vehicles: the VF 6 small crossover, the VF 7 compact crossover, the VF 8 midsize SUV and the VF 9 large SUV.

VinFast Executive Director Jean-Christophe Mercier said: car news europe It was revealed at the show that the automaker will begin deliveries of the VF 9 in early 2023, and will also start taking orders for the VF 7 and VF 6 next year.

Mercier, Vice President of After-Sales and Customer Ownership Experience at VinFast Europe, declined to say exactly when reservations will begin. It’s also unclear if shipment delays are affecting VinFast’s plans to open more stores in Europe.

VinFast said it opened its first flagship stores in Cologne and Paris, Germany, this month.

These stores are followed by stores in Amsterdam, the brand’s primary Dutch location. Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, etc. The company said last month that it would open a store in Oberhausen, Germany, by early 2023. Marseille, Rennes, Montpellier and Metz in France. The Hague and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.