Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - VinFast, a Vietnamese electric car startup , has lost four senior executives as it prepares to launch its...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - VinFast, a Vietnamese electric car startup, has lost four senior executives as it prepares to launch its first overseas model and open a network of dealerships in the United States and Europe, according to the firm.
The latest batch of departures comes as VinFast prepares to break ground on a $4 billion factory in North Carolina, launch its first showrooms in California, consider an initial public offering of stock, and seek government funding.
Emmanuel Bret, deputy chief executive officer for global sales; Franck Euvrard, deputy CEO for product development; Hong Bae, deputy CEO for vehicle technology development; and Bruno Tavares, who had been chief finance officer, are among the leaders who have gone, according to the business.
VinFast, a division of conglomerate Vingroup, claimed it had "terminated labour contracts" with the four with their cooperation, according to a spokesman. Two of the executives, who were not named, resigned for personal reasons, according to the report.
"They all consented to legally terminate their contracts," the firm said in a statement to Reuters. "Human resource adjustments are a standard corporate practise all over the world. VinFast is no different."
Bret, a former BMW executive, joined VinFast in Hanoi in January and was tasked with establishing the company's projected international sales network. He was one of the VinFast officials who attended the New York car show in April, where the company displayed prototypes of its VF8 and VF9 electric SUVs.
Euvrard, who joined VinFast from Tata Technologies in January, was in charge of creating VinFast's all-electric product range.
Last July, Hong Bae, a Samsung Electronics, Faraday Future, and Fisker veteran, joined VinFast.
No one from the company's upper management could be reached for comment.
BETTING ON THE MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES
According to a memo seen by Reuters from VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy's office, all of the executives were fired for a variety of reasons linked to the quality of their work.
The memo had not been adequately examined, according to a corporate spokeswoman, and had been retracted.
Huy Chieu, a former GM engineer who joined VinFast in November last year and led the work on the VF8, was promoted to manage the company's EV development efforts, according to a separate memo seen by Reuters. According to the same document, the corporation has chief engineers for two future models, the VF5 and VF6, that have yet to be prototyped.
The appointments mentioned in the memo were held, according to VinFast. Chieu was unavailable for comment.
Thuy took over as CEO of VinFast in December after German executive Michael Lohscheller resigned from his position as CEO of the Stellantis brand Opel to manage VinFast. According to the corporation, Lohscheller quit due to personal reasons.
Since its inception in 2017, VinFast has had three CEOs.
With two all-electric SUVs and a battery lease scheme that will cut the purchase price, VinFast, which began manufacturing in 2019, is banking big on the US market, where it aims to compete with legacy automakers and startups.
VinFast has vowed to create 7,500 jobs at its planned plant in North Carolina, where the battery-powered VF8 and the larger, more expensive VF9 will be manufactured.
It expects to start exporting the two electric vehicles to the United States from its existing manufacturing in Vietnam later this year.
