The company stated that this year, it hopes to supply up to 50,000 cars worldwide.

The difficulty of selling EVs in a nation with a lackluster infrastructure for charging them has been made worse by the automaker’s string of complaints over poor construction and software issues with the vehicles. The host of the EV and battery reviews “Xe Dien EV” YouTube channel claimed in January that the battery in his brand-new VinFast VF8 was broken and that he was unable to unlock the vehicle using its smart key. Months later, he mentioned issues with the car’s air conditioning, acceleration, and virtual assistant in another video.

Additionally, official media stated in April that a VinFast EV in the province of Nghe An unexpectedly caught fire. VinFast released a statement stating that investigators had determined the fire’s origin and it had nothing to do with a malfunction in their car. When AFP asked local officials for comment on the incident, they didn’t reply.

VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said, “There were a lot of doubts” in response to a question regarding the accusations in an interview with AFP last month. She added: “There’s a lot of hope and expectations for us to be better.” She stated that expecting a new product to be flawless was unreasonable. In a statement, the business said that concerns brought to its care center are always handled quickly. “To date, after several software updates and upgrades, our EVs are performing well,” it stated.

Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest person in Vietnam, owns VinFast’s parent company. Vuong began his career selling dry noodles in the Soviet Union. He went on to amass a $5 billion empire that included holdings in a number of industries, including as real estate, travel, and education. The business magnate is currently focusing on the rapidly expanding worldwide electric vehicle (EV) sector; VinFast has established showrooms in the US as well as locations in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Since making their Nasdaq debut in August, VinFast shares have seen extreme swings in value; they first surged to a market value more than that of Ford and General Motors, two of the biggest automakers, before plummeting. And it keeps growing in spite of declaring a third-quarter net loss of over $600 million. These days, the Middle East, Indonesia, and India are among its target markets. “Vingroup’s large financial resources allow it to absorb these losses for the time being, but this cannot continue indefinitely,” noted James Guild, a Southeast Asia trade specialist at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Though Vingroup has led the way in developing electric vehicle infrastructure in Vietnam, one local automotive expert—who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation from the influential conglomerate—stated that “VinFast has not won our trust.” “Users cannot buy such an expensive car based on national pride alone,” they stated. Director of AMCO, a consultancy and market research firm based in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Lien Phuong, stated that although the government promotes the purchase of Vietnamese-made goods, customers tend to place greater trust in international brands. “It will surely be a long and difficult play for Vingroup,” Phuong stated. “Anyone joining this game needs time.”