Vinfast: A Final Struggle Before Death?

After already investing 14 billion euros, the deep losses of the Vietnamese manufacturer force its owner to inject more money.

The madness of grandeur. This could summarize the adventure of Vinfast. In just 8 years of existence, over 16 billion dollars invested, declared global ambitions, factories planned on three continents… and losses amounting to billions. The trajectory of VinFast, the Vietnamese car manufacturer, resembles a novel where excess serves as the guiding thread.

Global dreams… on the drawing board

Founded in 2017 by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and supported by the Vingroup conglomerate, VinFast has set itself the mission to compete with Tesla and historical brands in under a decade. The company has aggressively targeted the electric SUV market, promised to open a factory in Haiphong, another in Chennai, India, and a third in the United States in North Carolina… even as its international presence is virtually non-existent.

In 2024, VinFast delivered 97,000 vehicles, an impressive figure for a young brand. But behind this performance lies a less flattering reality: more than 90% of sales were made in Vietnam through the companies and connections of Pham Nhat Vuong. Foreign markets, on the other hand, have not responded, remaining completely indifferent to products lacking notoriety, charm, and performance.

The American failure, a symptom of a rushed launch

In the United States, the VF 8 model was met with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism… before undergoing a barrage of criticism. Unpredictable handling, uneven finish, poorly calibrated suspensions, recurring electronic glitches: specialized journalists quickly classified VinFast as a “project not completed.”

This was compounded by several recalls: defective side airbags, multifunction screen that suddenly turns off. Enough to seriously tarnish the image of a manufacturer that wanted to embody modernity and reliability.

In 2024 alone, the brand lost 2 billion dollars, after already 2.4 billion in 2023. In August 2025, Pham Nhat Vuong had to inject an additional 1.52 billion dollars to maintain the course, through a financial operation to buy back the R&D subsidiary to lease it back to VinFast.

This financial forward escape illustrates a conviction: to win, one must grow quickly. But the question that haunts analysts is simple: is VinFast not building an empire on sand?

Quality sacrificed, image tarnished

Behind the accumulation of projects, a central problem: quality is lacking. Several journalistic investigations have mentioned hasty production methods, if not questionable. The urgency to “tick the boxes” of global expansion seems to have relegated reliability to the background.

Faced with setbacks in the West, VinFast is changing course. The manufacturer is now focusing its efforts on Asia: India, Indonesia, Gulf countries. Officially, it is about adapting the strategy to high-growth markets. Unofficially, it is a tactical retreat in response to the American failure and European skepticism.

The madness of grandeur… and the wall of reality

VinFast perfectly embodies the syndrome of “industrial unicorns”: XXL ambitions, a storytelling designed to seduce investors and media, but an execution that does not follow. The brand aims to go from 97,000 deliveries in 2024 to 200,000 in 2025. By what miracle, when the sales for the first half of 2025 are catastrophic?

With massive losses, a tarnished reputation, and an immature technical base, the road to this goal looks more like a mountain climb… in the rain. VinFast is not (yet) dead, but the manufacturer is hardly brave: excess in the automotive industry often ends up in the ditch. If the madness of grandeur does not quickly transform into industrial realism, the story of VinFast could very well become a case study… the kind to be studied in business schools under the rubric “what not to do.”

Finally, at Mobiwisy, we can only advise you to pass by any Vinfast advertisement. The promotions will multiply to clear the stocks, not to write the future…

ALSO READ: Eligible for the CEE Bonus, the Audi Q4 e-tron drops to 43,855€