Two federal officials and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper have had good things to say about Vietnamese automaker VinFast's multi-billion dollar investment to build electric vehicles in the tar heel state.
In statements released in a March 31 U.S. Department of Commerce news release, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Cooper applauded VinFast's announcement of its first North American manufacturing plant for electric vehicles and batteries in North Carolina.
"The Biden administration is commited to making more things in America. That includes making EVs – and the chips that help them run – here at home," Raimondo said. "If we want to meet our climate and EV goals, we have to start producing more components, including semiconductors, in America. We applaud VinFast’s investment in American workers, American manufacturing and America’s efforts to build the technology that will help us create jobs of the future, but we also need Congress to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act."
Commerce's news release came two days after VinFast's announcement of a "major manufacturing center" to be built in Chatham County's Triangle Innovation Point megasite. The manufacturing center is expected to cover 800-hectares, to build electric cars and buses, EV batteries "and ancillary industries for suppliers," VinFast's announcement said.
North Carolina is an "ideal location" for VinFast's first electric vehicle manufacturing site in the U.S., according to Vingroup Vice Chair and VinFast Global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy in the Vinfast announcement.
"North Carolina's strong commitments in building a clean energy economy, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs," she said. "Having a production facility right in the market will help VinFast to proactively manage its supply chain, maintain stabilized prices and shorten product supply time, making VinFast's EVs more accessible to customers, contributing to the realization of local environmental improvement goals."
Construction of the center is expected to begin sometime this year and production to rev up in July 2024. The Chatham County manufacturing center is expected to produce about 150,000 EV vehicles per year, including the VinFast VF 9, a seven-passenger all-electric SUV, and the VinFast VF 8, a five-passenger, all-electric mid-size SUV.
The center is expected to employ about 7,000 jobs in the region "and fuel American efforts to combat the climate crisis," The Department of Commerce news release said.
"North Carolina is quickly becoming the center of our country's emerging, clean energy economy," Cooper said in the news release. "VinFast's transformative project will bring many good jobs to our state, along with a healthier environment as more electric vehicles take to the road to help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
"The Biden administration is making it possible for more Americans to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle," Granholm said in the news release. "This announcement is the latest example of companies responding to President Biden’s economic plan and making investments in our domestic clean energy economy – helping the U.S. end our reliance on fossil fuels, shielding American families from volatilities of oil and gas prices and creating good paying jobs."
