VinFast aims to sell up to 50,000 EVs in 2023 — but it has only hit 23% of its target so far
VinFast electric vehicles are parked before delivery to their first customers at a store in Los Angeles, March 1, 2023.
Lisa Baertlein | Reuters
Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast‘s ambitious plan to deliver as many as 50,000 vehicles this year is “unrealistic,” according to one analyst.
VinFast said it expects to deliver 40,000 to 50,000 vehicles in 2023 despite a weak global economy. That’s almost seven times the 7,400 EVs it sold last year, all in Vietnam.
The company delivered only 11,315 vehicles in the first half of this year, of which 7,100 were sold to Green and Smart Mobility, a Vietnamese taxi company controlled by parent Vingroup, the firm said during its second-quarter earnings call on Sept. 21. In April, Green SM launched a pure EV taxi service in Vietnam with VinFast models.
Shares of Vingroup, one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam, closed at 45,200 Vietnamese dong ($1.85) on Wednesday, its lowest level since November 2017, according to Refinitiv data.
“More than 50% of EV volume during 1H2023 were to a related company while U.S. volume was less than 200 units raising serious concerns over demand for VinFast’s EVs,” Shifara Samsudeen, equity analyst at LightStream Research, said in a report published on SmartKarma.
Through June, only 137 VinFast EVs — all VF8 SUVs— were registered in the U.S., according to automotive data provider S&P Global Mobility which CNBC confirmed.
U.S. sales aren’t expected to improve any time soon. The reputational issues caused by the launch of the VF8 will not be solved by the VF9.
David Byrne
Analyst, Third Bridge
Meanwhile, U.S. rival Tesla and China’s XPeng delivered 889,015 and 300,145 electric cars, respectively, during the first half of the year.
“VinFast’s ambitious EV plan seems unrealistic. It seems unlikely for VinFast to meet its 50,000 EV target for 2023 and our revised forecast suggests there is further downside despite shares dropping more than 50% vs IPO,” said Samsudeen.
In response to CNBC’s request for comment, VinFast said it is “ramping up production to ensure delivery targets in international markets.”
“Besides, VinFast will soon expand to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets soon, which will also boost our production,” the company told CNBC.
VinFast, which has yet to make a profit, began trading on the Nasdaq on Aug. 15. Its share price soared more than 250% on the first day of trading, but has since dropped more than 60%.
Ambitious plans
VinFast has been ramping up its expansion outside of Vietnam this year, in a bid to compete with automakers globally.
“We have established our operational facilities, including sales network in Vietnam, North America and Europe, and moving forward, we plan to expand our coverage to Asia-Pacific, Middle East and other potential markets globally,” VinFast CEO Lê Thị Thu Thủy said during the firm’s second quarter earnings call.
“We have ambitious plans to deliver seven models in Vietnam, North America, Europe and Asia over 2023 and 2024, such as delivering the VF9 in North America by the end of the year, as well as targeting first delivery of the – the VX6 later this year and the – the VX7 and VF3 in 2024,” said Lê.
Our U.S. sales are improving at our stores. And with the upcoming addition of dealers, we will likely exceed our plan for the year.
Higher prices
Analysts also noted that VinFast’s models are not competitively priced. For example, VinFast’s VF9 model is priced from $83,000 whereas the Tesla Model X is priced from $68,590 after federal tax credit and gas savings.
Additionally, Tesla passenger vehicles qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit in the U.S., while VinFast vehicles are currently not eligible as they are not built in the U.S.
“[This suggests] that it may not as easy as said to increase the sales volume in the U.S. and other foreign markets given more established EV models are selling for a lower price,” said Samsudeen.
“Our experts questioned the pricing decision of VF9 in the US market. It is more expensive than key, more established competitors such as the Kia EV9 and the Tesla Model X, despite the platform being internal combustion engine-derived, compromising its performance and range,” said Bryne.
VinFast told CNBC that “experts have carefully researched and priced our vehicles properly.” It also said it does not consider some of these mentioned vehicles as their competitors, without specifying models.
During the second quarter, VinFast posted a net loss of $526.7 million, improving 8.2% from the same period a year ago.
VinFast expects to break even by the end of 2024, its founder Pham Nhat Vuong reportedly told investors at the company’s annual general meeting in May.
Turning cheap daytime solar into electricity you can actually use at night just got a lot cheaper. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that utility-scale battery storage costs have fallen to $65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of October 2025 in markets outside China and the US. At that level, pairing solar with batteries to deliver power when it’s needed is now economically viable.
Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past two years, and the decline continues. Following a steep decline in 2024, Ember’s analysis indicates that prices continued to fall sharply again in 2025.
The findings are based on real-world data from recent battery and solar-plus-storage auctions in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India, as well as interviews with active developers across global markets.
According to Ember, the cost of a whole, grid-connected utility-scale battery storage system for long-duration projects (four hours or more) is now about $125 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of October 2025. That figure applies to projects outside China and the US. Core battery equipment delivered from China costs around $75/kWh, while installation and grid connection typically add another $50/kWh.
Those lower upfront costs have pushed down the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) to just $65/MWh. Ember’s calculation reflects real-world assumptions around financing costs, system lifetime, efficiency, and battery degradation.
Cheaper hardware isn’t the only reason storage costs are falling. Longer battery lifetimes, higher efficiencies, and lower financing costs, helped by clearer revenue models such as auctions, have all contributed to the sharp drop in LCOS. Ember has published a live calculator alongside the report, allowing users to estimate LCOS using their own assumptions.
Why this matters comes down to how solar is actually used. Most solar power is generated during the day, so only a portion needs to be stored to make it dispatchable. Ember estimates that if half of daytime solar generation is shifted to nighttime, the $65/MWh storage cost adds about $33/MWh to the cost of solar electricity.
With the global average price of solar at $43/MWh in 2024, adding storage would bring the total cost to about $76/MWh, delivering power in a way that better matches real demand.
As Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova put it, after a 40% drop in battery equipment costs in 2024, the industry is now on track for another major fall in 2025. The economics of battery storage, she said, are “unrecognizable,” and the industry is still adjusting to this new reality.
“Solar is no longer just cheap daytime electricity; now it’s anytime dispatchable electricity. This is a game-changer for countries with fast-growing demand and strong solar resources,” Rangelova added.
Together, solar and battery storage are increasingly emerging as a scalable, secure, and affordable foundation for future power systems.
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage soar as fossil fuels stall through September 2025
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss a very telling Tesla Optimus fail, Rivian’s AI/Autonomy day, Mercedes GLB EV, and more.
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Nissan is reviving the Xterra, the rugged SUV that once attracted a cult-like following, but this time it will be “electrified.”
The Nissan Xterra will be electrified, but by how much?
Earlier this year, Nissan offered a sneak peek of its upcoming lineup in a shadowy image previewing several new vehicles.
Alongside the new 2026 LEAF, a plug-in hybrid Rogue, updated Pathfinder, and Sentra, Nissan teased a new electric “adventure-focused SUV,” which we later learned will be badged the Xterra.
The rugged electric SUV appeared to have a more upright, boxy stance than the original model. The previous Xterra attracted a cult-like following as a cheaper off-road alternative to the Toyota 4Runner, Ford Bronco, and Jeep Wrangler.
However, Nissan discontinued it after the 2015 model year as buyers opted for more efficient options like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
The new Xterra, but this time “it will have to have electrification,” according to Nissan Americas chief planning officer, Ponz Pandikuthira.
Pandikuthira told MotorTrend that the next-gen Xterra “cannot be ICE only,” but just how electrified it will be remains up in the air. “Is that an EREV? Is that a parallel hybrid system? Is that a plug-in system? That’s not defined yet. That’s all being actively studied right now,” he explained.
Nissan plans to launch a series of new extended-range hybrid (EREV) vehicles based on its e-Power system. The e-Power system uses a gas-powered engine connected to a generator.
The generator feeds energy to the inverter, which charges the battery and electric motor. Since the ICE only charges the battery and does not drive the wheels, it benefits from the instant torque and smooth drive of an EV.
However, it’s still powered by a gas engine at the end of the day. The 2027 Nissan Rogue will be the first e-Power vehicle in the US.
The Xterra could also arrive as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) similar to the 2026 Nissan Rogue. The 2026 Rogue will be Nissan’s first PHEV for the US and is expected to be a key part of its comeback plans.
It will go on sale in early 2026 with an EPA-estimated 36 miles of electric driving range. Combined with the gas engine, the hybrid powertrain provides up to 420 miles of EPA-estimated driving range.
The electrified Xterra will share a body-on-frame platform with the Pathfinder and Frontier, with a V-6 engine, all-wheel drive (AWD), and space for bigger batteries.
According to Pandikuthira, the V-6 will give it an edge over the competition, while the hybrid powertrain will improve efficiency.
The “electrified” Xterra will be built at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant, starting in 2028. The following year, a luxury Infiniti electric SUV, based on the Vision QXe concept, will join it.
Electrek’s Take
While Nissan is launching new PHEVs, hybrids, and EREVs, it has already pulled one electric SUV, the Ariya, from its US lineup.
For now, the only fully electric vehicle Nissan offers in the US is the 2026 LEAF. Although it was once viewed as a leader in the shift to EVs with the initial LEAF launching in 2010, Nissan has quickly fallen behind and is now scrambling to catch up.
Nissan hopes to plug the gap with a series of gas-power hybrids over the next few years until new all-electric vehicles begin rolling out in 2028.
Even with less efficient hybrid tech, Nissan is still late to the game and will need to keep pace with Toyota, Honda, Ford, Stellantis, and others betting on hybrids in the US.
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