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VinFast Goes Public And Is Worth More Than GM

VinFast Auto Ltd. of Vietnam recently went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticket symbol “VFS” via a merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co., a SPAC or special purpose acquisition company, giving it a valuation of $65 billion and more value – at least on paper – than GM or cross-town rival Ford.

As Bloomberg points out, however, the extravagant market capitalization caused by SPAC mergers such as that used by VinFast is often short-lived, with a company at the median losing 45 percent of its value and almost two dozen this year alone shedding 70 percent of their value.

Celebration of the VinFast NASDAQ listing.

Celebration of the VinFast NASDAQ listing

The $65 billion market cap of VinFast could be even more unstable than usual because the stock float available for trading amounts to only 1.3 million shares, so relatively small trades will result in massive shifts in the stock’s price. The company’s founder Pham Nhat Vuong and his wife control 99 percent of shares.

Meanwhile, VinFast needs to greatly accelerate its sales to reach its 2023 target of 50,000 electric vehicles sold, CNBC reports. So far, its attempt to mimic Tesla’s direct sales from company showrooms rather than via dealerships has resulted in fairly sluggish results, with 16,000 vehicles sold in total during January through July 2023.

The only model VinFast currently offers in the U.S., the VF 8, is more expensive than the Tesla Model Y and has only sold 137 units this year, the news report added. While the Vietnamese automaker only operates factories in Vietnam currently, it has already broken ground in late July on a North Carolina facility scheduled to begin production in 2025.

A sketch of the future VinFast factory in North Carolina.

A sketch of the future VinFast factory in North Carolina

Madame Thuy Le, global CEO of VinFast, nevertheless struck an optimistic note, asserting that the company going public via SPAC merger “unlocks access to the capital markets and important avenues for future development.” She added that the automaker hopes its example will “inspire and unleash greater opportunities for Vietnamese brands to participate in the global market.”

While Thuy Le said the SPAC merger – which saw the stock’s valuation skyrocket 255 percent – will “unlock access” to capital, and VinFast plans to seek more investment over the next 18 months, its search for more investment is also viewed as a potential warning sign by U.S. financial analysts.

Front three quarters view of the VinFast VF-8.

The VinFast VF-8

The vehicles made by VinFast were designed with the aid of German, Austrian, and Italian automakers and automotive design companies. It also has multiple ties to GM, including acquisition of the GM plant in Hanoi for production and a strategic partnership making VinFast the exclusive distributor of Chevy products in Vietnam.

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Comments

  1. VERY temporarily. Oh, those stupid fools and their money…

    Reply
  2. Just another overpriced popcorn fart that will blow away with the first puff of wind.

    Reply
  3. Share price isnt reflective of company value

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    1. No, that’s why they listed the total valuation, but obviously they are related.
      That said, I’ve heard nothing good about Vinfast’s products.

      Reply
  4. You guys are a bunch of pessimists ………….oops, stock price just dropped again …………… never mind.

    Reply
  5. Isn’t this kind of like the “hot” new girl (or boy) at the high school? They look great until they open their mouth and speak. Then after being around them for a while, the hot part wears thin. This going public and taking off like a wildfire isn’t a surprise.

    I often go to charge at the EvGo chargers at the local mall close to my house (trying to burn up that $500 EvGo credit). Having a lot of places to eat, I will normally grab a bite and then walk around. That mall has a Vinfast store or whatever you call them and I have stopped in several times to look over the product. Not a bad looking vehicle IF you want an SUV with black plastic all over the bottom and around the wheels. A little pricy. But I wouldn’t give Vinfast a second look to buy until they offer a fully painted car. Until then, I’ll drive my Bolt that was a lot less money with better fit and finish.

    Reply
  6. It smells like a swampy blowby fart for gm and ford to smell who watch competition establish themselves right in front of their front grills.
    Imagine only a few years ago the thought of a brand spanking new auto maker who just released prototypes and only sold a few hundred thousand units actualy be more of value to US stock players than Ford and gm!!! Even if only for a day this higher assesed value certainly seems to put gm and ford downwind of this fart and may threaten to linger in Ford and gms workspaces long after it left rear-end of the one who deat it.
    Ford and gm logicly have to feel threatened by market developments which show their entire business strategy is suddenly vulnerable to competition that’s entire value is established on the liklyhood they can develop and deliver a desirable product for already a fraction of what gm and ford offer. What if this or any other offers similar models for less than half of what ford and gm do? Or better yet they offer a half price product that is of higher quality than that of what ford and gm offer?
    Way I see it is that mabey ford and gm may be the overvalued popcorn farts soon to be lost in the breeze!!!!

    Reply

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