On Monday, Vietnam’s domestic car manufacturer Vinfast said, it has opened offices in Europe and in North America.

The development marks the company joining a crowded sector as it tries to woo customers with smart electric cars.

VinFast, a unit of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup JSC, is the country’s first fully fledged domestic car manufacturer when its gasoline-powered models built under its own badge hit the streets in 2019.

“VinFast has set up representative offices in five international markets and will soon open showrooms in California,” said Vingroup. “VinFast USA’s CEO has already relocated to the U.S. from Vietnam recently”.

Earlier VinFast had set a sales target of 56,000 electric vehicles in 2022, but scaled it back to 15,000 units citing shortage of chips, said Vingroup’s chairman Pham Nhat Vuong in the company’s annual meeting in June.

Incidentally, VinFast, which achieved annual sales of around 30,000 units in 2020, has yet to make a profit.

In a statement, VinFast USA’s CEO said the company was banking on a battery leasing scheme and plans on conducting most of its U.S. sales online.

It plans on launching two of its electric car models, VF e35 and VF e36, in March 2022. In order to support its growth, the company needs a cash infusion. Earlier this year in, to support its growth plans, VinFast had flagged a potential initial public offering in the US or merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. However, according to sources, VinFast’s offering, slated for the second quarter and which could see the company raise at least $2 billion, is facing a delay.

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Tags: California, car manufacturer, chip shortage, domestic, domestic car manufacturer, electric cars, electric vehicles, Europe, international markets, IPO, North America, offices, sales target, showrooms, Smart cars, SPAC, special purpose acquisition company, VF e35, VF e36, Vietnam, Vinfast, Vingroup JSC