Vietnamese EV Maker VinFast Now Worth More than Ford, Volkswagen

Electric vehicle maker VinFast Auto's shares jumped 270% on the Nasdaq after its first day of trading Tuesday, with a market capitalization that dwarfed industry titans such as Ford and General Motors.

But the honeymoon period for the Vietnamese EV company may not last long. VinFast stock dropped by more than 28% less than an hour after Wednesday's market opened. By mid-morning, its shares were trading at $28.60, down over 22% from Tuesday.

VinFast's debut on the Nasdaq came after its merger Tuesday with Black Spade Acquisition Co, a special purchase acquisition company. The stock opened at $22, more than double its initial $10 price, before closing at $37.

“With this listing we now have more access to capital to accelerate our mission as we undertake an international expansion and continue to introduce new products to make EVs more accessible to everyone,” VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said Tuesday.

Before its merger with Black Spade, VinFast had previously be been valued at $23 billion, according to a June regulatory filing. With its market debut, the automaker was worth more than $86 billion.

That puts VinFast at a higher valuation than auto giants Ford and General Motors, which stand at $48 billion and $46 billion, respectively. VinFast is also worth more than BMW and Volkswagen, each valued at around $69 billion.

Tesla, however, still retains a massive lead over all of its competitors with a market capitalization of $739 billion.

The run-up in VinFast stock will primarily benefit its owner, billionaire Pham That Vuong, who owns the majority of the company's 2.3 billion ordinary shares. Vietnam's richest man holds 99% of VinFast through shares held by his companies, which include VinFast's parent-company VinGroup.

Tuesday's frenzied trading in VinFast's shares reportedly added $39 billion to Vuong's net worth boosting it to $44.5 billion and making him the fifth richest person in Asia, according to Forbes.

VinFast began delivering EVs made in its Vietnam factory to North America earlier this year, where they were met with a slew of negative reviews.

Last month, the company also began building a $4 billion factory in North Carolina, which can manufacture up to 150,000 EVs a year in its first phase, according to the automaker. The plant will begin production in 2025, a year later than the company had planned, VinFast said in a statement.

Despite its recent success, VinFast has faced a slew of issues. The automaker announced in January it would be cutting jobs and consolidating its U.S. and Canadian operations into a single business unit. The company was also forced to recall some of its vehicles and delay its first shipment of cars to the U.S. over separate software issues.