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Vietnamese EV maker VinFast has announced plans to build a second plant in Vietnam at a breakneck pace – its fifth globally – to double the production capacity of its VF 3 and VF 5 models.

A new $287.5 million factory in Ha Tinh province expects to ramp up production capacity in Vietnamese from 300,000 to 600,000 vehicles for both domestic sales and export, Reuters reports.

The pace of the project is at record speed, with the foundation stone already having been laid. Operations are set to begin in July 2025, a mere eight months after the project kicked off. The new plant should create nearly 6,000 new jobs for locals, which the company said could later increase to 15,000.

VinFast says it is ramping up construction due to the increase in demand for small and medium-size EVs in Vietnam and beyond. “Demand in international markets is also growing rapidly, so the construction of an additional electric car factory in Ha Tinh will create a solid foundation for an important and explosive development phase of VinFast in the coming time,” said Nguyen Viet Quang, deputy chairman and CEO of VinFast’s parent company Vingroup, at the ceremony, according to the report.

VinFast-VF-3-Philippines

Electrek’s Take

Of course, while this sounds good on paper, VinFast is still far off from fully utilizing it existing plant in Vietnam, with a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year. In the first nine months of 2024, VinFast delivered fewer than 44,773 cars worldwide according to Reuters. This year’s target is 80,000 vehicles.

VinFast, which launched five EVs in 2022, has had rather sluggish sales so far, with fewer than 35,000 EVs sold last year. Things this year have picked up, but it’s still unlikely to achieve its annual target, which has already been brought down from 100,000 vehicles, this year. Its announced US factory has been pushed back from 2025 to 2028, with VinFast focusing on new factories in India and Indonesia, both of which are slated to come into operation in 2025.

Photos: courtesy of VinFast


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No one knows how NYC’s 15 mph e-bike speed limit will even work

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No one knows how NYC's 15 mph e-bike speed limit will even work

In his latest crackdown on e-bike riders, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is pushing for a new citywide e-bike speed limit of 15 mph (25 km/h), despite the fact that no one seems to know how it would actually be enforced.

The proposal, introduced last month as part of a broader package aimed at improving safety on city streets, would make it illegal to ride an e-bike over 15 mph. But experts, advocates, and even city officials are scratching their heads about how the rule would work in practice.

Most consumer e-bikes are already sold with speed limits in place: 20 mph (32 km/h) for throttle assist and 28 mph (45 km/) for pedal assist, per classifications used in the majority of states in the US. Yet those limits are controlled by the bike’s electronics, not by any city infrastructure.

According to reporting by Hell Gate NYC, even the Mayor’s own office couldn’t explain what the enforcement mechanism would look like, and no single agency has so far been put in charge of enforcing the speed limit. Will the city mandate software modifications such as those that limit Class 3 e-bikes to 25 mph (40 km/h) in NYC? Would they rely on radar guns like traditional speeding enforcement for cars? Install speed cameras that can identify bikes? So far, there are no answers.

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Citi Bike has already reduced its electric bicycle fleet’s speed limits to 15 mph, but that only impacts shared e-bikes used in the city. Complicating matters further is the fact that most delivery riders – who are clearly the unspoken target of this policy – don’t use mainstream e-bikes from the major manufacturers, or even those that can accept firmware updates to adjust speed and power. Many of them ride inexpensive, sometimes heavily modified throttle bikes purchased online or from bike shops like FLY that cater to these types of riders. Such e-bikes often lack more sophisticated software speed-limiting features, and few, if any, have any form of digital connectivity that could allow for remote speed capping.

City transportation experts note that enforcement of speed limits on e-bikes is nearly impossible without clocking and stopping each rider. Unlike cars, bikes don’t have license plates. And even if a bike is capable of going faster than 15 mph, it doesn’t mean the rider is actually breaking the law – unless caught in the act. Nearly every car in NYC can likely push close to or past 100 mph (160 km/h), despite the city wide’s vehicular speed limit of just 25 mph. Advocates have also questioned the wisdom of focusing on e-bike speed while car crashes continue to injure and kill far more people.

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Range Rover’s electric SUV won’t launch this year after a surprise delay, but there’s more

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Range Rover's electric SUV won't launch this year after a surprise delay, but there's more

Range Rover’s first EV was initially scheduled to arrive later this year, but that won’t be the case. JLR has delayed the launch of the Range Rover Electric after telling customers they will have to wait a little longer. However, that may not be the only EV JLR is delaying.

Range Rover Electric and Jaguar EVs are being delayed

Although the electric SUV was originally due to hit showrooms in late 2025, it’s now being pushed back until next year.

The British automaker claimed it needed more time for testing while it waited for stronger demand. However, there’s more to the story. According to The Guardian, Jaguar Land Rover wrote to clients waiting for the Range Rover Electric, telling them deliveries will not start until 2026.

Sources close to the matter said the delay could also impact two Jaguar EV models, including the radical blue-and-pink Type 00 Concept. Jaguar’s electric vehicles are expected to be delayed by several months.

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The news comes after JLR announced plans to cut up to 500 management positions in the UK this week. Britain’s largest carmaker was hit hard by the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs.

Range-Rover-Electric-delayed
Range Rover Electric SUV prototype testing (Source: JLR)

JLR’s sales plunged over 15% in the previous quarter after the company was forced to temporarily halt shipments to the US.

A company spokesperson confirmed that “By 2030 JLR will sell electric versions of all its luxury brands,” adding “we will launch our new models at the right time for our clients, our business and individual markets.”

Jaguar's-controversial-EV-debut
Jaguar Type 00 first public debut in Paris (Source: Jaguar)

Range Rover’s first electric SUV has secured over 61,000 customers on the waiting list. JLR claims it’s currently undergoing “the most intensive testing any Range Rover vehicle has ever endured.”

An electric version of the Velar is due for a radical new look. It’s scheduled for production in April 2026, but that could also be delayed. An electric Defender is due out in early 2027.

Meanwhile, production on Jaguar’s new EV, its first since the I-PACE, is set to begin in August 2026. Jaguar’s electric GT is expected to cost over £100,000 ($135,000) as part of its brand revamp. Its second EV may not launch until December 2027 now.

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Wheel-E Podcast: Lectric XP Trike2, Amish e-bikes, little Honda, more

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Wheel-E Podcast: Lectric XP Trike2, Amish e-bikes, little Honda, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Aventon and Lectric, a surge in Amish riding e-bikes, a wireless charging kickstand, cheaper electric motorcycles coming from Honda and LiveWire and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

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