Q&A about VinFast’s battery strategy with
Thuy Le, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup
VinFast has been very innovative in its re-creating itself from a simply a car company to become an EV-only car maker whose innovation is clearly towards zero-emissions and putting a foothold on the lucrative market that is electric vehicles.
It has pioneered in battery development, considering charging stations at the same time innovatively initiating the battery rental policy. This policy reduces consumer risks and operation and maintenance expenses while ensuring that the battery cost is similar to the monthly price of gasoline for ICE vehicles with similar capacities.
In this quick 5-minute interview, Chairwoman Tuy reiterates not only the technology-based innovations developed with collaboration with partners and even internal ideas on its battery strategy. Rooted in its Customer-First philosophy, VinFast’s thinking for battery continuity also means that it will enable itself to come into many markets by providing a market-leading 10-year-warranty policy.
Q: VinFast has just announced an MoU with Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd. Why does Vingroup tend to partner with companies from China instead of Korea, Europe or America, madam?
A: It’s simply because China is now considered the world’s largest hub for battery production, and major car manufacturers such as Tesla, BMW, and Volkswagen have all selected Chinese partners to develop battery systems for their electric vehicles.
Our strategic partner – Gotion High-Tech is a leading name in China and is world-renowned for thousands of patents and licensed applications. In particular, Gotion High-Tech owns the LFP battery technology, offering many outstanding advantages such as competitive pricing, exceptional safety standards, and longer lifespans than traditional battery generations, suitable even for mid-range car models.
Q: In addition to its partners in China, we understand that VinFast has also been negotiating with potential partners worldwide. Is there anything that you would like to share about VinFast’s battery development strategy?
A: We are actively working with many major battery research and production companies worldwide, such as those from the US, Israel, and Taiwan, as part of our global expansion, offering EV models with the highest-quality and most modern batteries.
In particular, we are expediting the introduction of two revolutionary battery technologies for the electric vehicle market: 100% solid-state batteries and extreme fast charging batteries. These types of batteries are highly advanced, and the largest electric vehicle manufacturers in the world are in the process of researching and deploying them. If we master these from an early stage, VinFast will have an opportunity to make a real breakthrough in the industry.
Regarding the 100% solid-state battery, VinFast has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Prologium (PLG) of Taiwan, a leading enterprise in battery research and production. This company has been a pioneer in commercializing this technology since 2013 and became the world’s first company that possessed 100% solid-state battery experimentation facility for cars in 2017. We are all aware that 100% solid-state battery technology is currently, and will continue to be, regarded as one of the “revolutions” for batteries. Being able to produce 100% solid-state batteries will make VinFast one of the world’s few electric car companies capable of offering the most advanced batteries.
As for extreme fast charging batteries, VinFast is collaborating with Israel’s StoreDot, – a world-renowned company using nanoparticles, instead of graphite, to quickly charge to 80% of battery capacity within 4-5 minutes. This cutting-edge technology has not even been acquired by major electric vehicle manufacturers. StoreDot was at the forefront of the world’s energy industry and its extreme fast charging battery technology has been proven to work on phones, drones, and electric motorcycles.
At the same time, we are also actively carrying out R&D activities on our own to keep upgrading vehicle batteries to ensure that VinFast models are equipped with the world’s best and most modern battery packs.
Q: Instead of collaborating with many partners at the same time, why doesn’t VinFast only choose one battery supplier and follow the examples of many large manufacturers in relieving the burden of batteries?
A: As I’ve just said, VinFast does not want to depend on a single battery model. Our goal is to own the best and most modern battery generations in the world, including solid-state batteries, extremely fast charging batteries, etc. With each step of the development, we will focus our resources and collaborate with partners who can master the latest technology, even the future technologies.
Along with collaborating with the world’s leading names in battery technology, we are also actively promoting our internal resources. The battery research institutes under Vingroup’s business ecosystem and the newly established VinES Energy Solutions JSC are all led by the world’s leading experts. These divisions will collaborate with our strategic partners to jointly research and develop new battery solutions.
This 3-pillar strategy can help VinFast ensures a sufficient supply of batteries that are always of the best-in-class categories.
Q: Is VinFast’s strategy to quickly surpass its competitors while the world’s largest automakers are not offering many new battery products?
A: That’s just part of the market perspective. We want a convergence of the world’s best technologies, combined with the intelligence of the Vietnamese people, in producing the batteries with better technology, lower prices, thereby removing the barriers to electric vehicle adoption. VinFast’s strategic direction is to be a leading and accelerating factor behind the world’s sustainability revolution.
Q: Could you reveal more about the upcoming plan, especially battery supplies, as this was a significant challenge for many major car manufacturers?
A: In addition to the battery production line in Vietnam, VinFast plans to open more rechargeable battery factories in Europe and the US to ensure our own adequate supply, which supports our global expansion plan. This is an essential factor in VinFast’s roadmap to become a global electric car company.
