On October 6, the Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast released its third quarter financial results, showing that the company's revenue in the third quarter was $343 million, an increase of 159% from the same period last year, thanks to improved deliveries. However, as expenses continued to rise, the company's net loss widened nearly 34 percent to $623 million in the same period.

Mounting losses have spurred the much-watched electric car upstart to accelerate reforms, as VinFast seeks to boost sales by partnering with dealers and agents in dozens of major markets, including North America, Europe, Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Le Thi Thu Thuy, VinFast's chief executive, said on September 21 that VinFast was in talks with several resellers in the US and expected to announce the list soon.
North America is one of VinFast's most important overseas markets. According to the data, VinFast delivered more than 10,000 electric vehicles in the third quarter, an increase of 5.2% from the previous quarter, and sales in the North American market, especially Canada, increased.
The company has previously used a direct model similar to Tesla's in North America. But VinFast announced in August that it wanted to reach consumers through dealers instead. "Self-owned stores are good but take a lot of time," says Li. "Working with other partners can speed up development."
Li Yanwei, an expert member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Circulation Association, told the interface news that the direct mode tests the brand's ability to forecast and plan for the market, and if it cannot be successfully predicted, it is likely to appear heavy inventory, or the phenomenon of not enough cars to sell. For VinFast, which has yet to gain traction in North America, sticking with direct sales could be a risky move.
However, the marketing model reform is not smooth sailing. Sina Finance reported in August that a number of U.S. dealers were open to the idea, but all said they needed to know more about VinFast's detailed plans, including sales strategy, dealer requirements, parts distribution plans and vehicle warranty policies.
In fact, with the exception of Tesla, which has secured the top spot in the global electric vehicle market, most startups are still struggling in the initial stage. VinFast faces competition not only from new forces making cars, but also from established automakers such as General Motors, Ford and Hyundai, which are accelerating their transition to electrification.
VinFast's ability to survive the fierce competition has also shaken the confidence of potential partners. Several U.S. dealers said the brand needed to improve margins to deal with the additional risk. Even more competitors have been outspoken about the partnership program itself, with former GM executive Warren Browne calling it a total mistake to stand side by side with dealers because "service dealers extract too much value."
Xu Huxiong, global partner of Roland Berger, told the interface news that the contradiction between brands and dealers is that dealers pay more attention to whether they can obtain relatively large profits in the short term, while brands hope to build brands and build base customers while obtaining profits. If the distribution model is fully rolled out in North America, managing this conflict will be critical to VinFast's long-term growth.
In addition to the North American market, VinFast's overseas expansion plans continue, the company expects to deliver the first VF8 models to customers in France, Germany and the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of this year, and other models such as the VF6 are expected to arrive in Europe next year.
According to the latest filing, VinFast will also take advantage of government incentives for electric vehicles in South Asia to set up a vehicle assembly plant in India, the world's third-largest auto market, which is expected to open in 2026. A few weeks ago, VinFast announced plans to build a factory in Indonesia, and related recruitment has started. After the completion of the Indonesian assembly plant, it is planned to produce 30,000 to 50,000 vehicles a year.
VinFast was founded in 2017 and started out as a fuel car. In response to the process of electrification in the automotive field, VinFast announced the production of fuel vehicles in 2022, and publicly said that "against Tesla." Due to the high degree of overlap with BYD's transformation experience, it is called "Vietnam BYD" in the public opinion field.
Since going public, VinFast has attracted attention for its frequently volatile share price. After completing its business merger with special purpose Acquisition company (SPAC)Black Spade Acquisition(SPAC), VinFast's stock price rose 255% on the Nasdaq on August 15, surpassing traditional car companies such as General Motors and Mercedes Benz.
Earlier, due to the voluntary recall of the first 999 vehicles delivered to the US market, VinFast's shares continued to weaken into trouble, falling below the issue price, and its market value plummeted to less than $20 billion. Under the influence of the latest results, VinFast rose more than 7% before the session.