Le Thi Thu Thuy
Analyst · Cantor Fitzgerald. Please ask your question, Andrew
Thank you, Nhi, and welcome, everyone. It's great to speak with you again and to share the exciting developments at VinFast. Q3 2024 was underpinned by a robust September as we recorded our highest monthly delivery ever in our home market. For the first time, Vietnam's OEM, which has been around for only seven years, and only pivoted to a pure EV strategy early about two years ago, has outperformed international competitors to become the market leader. This marks a historic milestone for Vietnam's automotive industry as it now enter a very short-list of countries in which a domestic pure EV player leads the sales chart. It also demonstrates that maintaining flexibility and simply responding to a near-term market opportunity is an effective strategy during the early stages of EV transition. Meanwhile, the calibrations that we made to our international strategy has started to pay off as well. September was also the best month in the history of VinFast North American market, thanks to our growing dealer network and continuous improvement of our EVs. With nine-month 2024 accounting for 55% of the full year target, we expect to finish 2024 on a strong note and reiterate our 80,000 vehicle delivery target. As always, VinFast remains committed to balancing growth and profitability, while being nimble to respond to market opportunities. Now let me discuss our Q3 deliveries in more details. During the quarter, we delivered 21,912 EVs, representing a 66% quarter-over-quarter and 115% year-over-year increase. e-scooter delivery in Q3 were 18,894 representing a 44% sequential increase and a 33% year-on-year decrease, if you count the last delivery of GSM last year or 118% increase excluding delivery of GSM. We also observed Q3 2024 B2C electric car sales grew at a robust 163% quarter-over-quarter and 497% year-over-year. Now let's turn to the drivers of each of our markets. Let's start with Vietnam. With the right product and sales strategy, VinFast successfully set a trend and created a new demand in our domestic markets where retail sales grew 159% quarter-over-quarter and 504% year-over-year in Q3 2024, thanks to our VF 3 and VF 5. For the first time, Vietnam's customers realized that they could have decent, cool looking, strong build EVs at a very reasonable price. VF 3 deliveries began during the third quarter and rapidly gained popularity in Vietnam for its unique personality and practical features including a 10-inch entertainment screen, spacious storage and backup sensors, combined with low running cost and a steady built, customers see it as an ideal fun-to-drive urban car, and the excitement continues to build as eager buyers await their turn to receive their VF 3. VF 5 appealing to both personal and business user is also helping us drive the green mobility shift beyond being a top choice for retail customers. A unique trend is the growing adoption of EVs by traditional taxi operators. This shift is driven by the economic benefits of reduced maintenance and stable electricity costs compared to the volatile gasoline prices. Transitioning to EVs also allow many transportation businesses to lower expenses and improved profitability. We view this as a major step forward in developing sustainable transportation options in Vietnam. We believe our home market holds significant potential beyond the success that you already have seen. And we have observed many positive trends that bring us confidence on its long-term EV adoption. According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturer, car ownership in Vietnam remains low with only 55 cars for every 1,000 people as compared to 82 in Indonesia. At the same time, 35 million people are expected to enter Vietnam's middle class by 2030, significantly boosting the number of consumers with the purchasing power to consider EVs. During the same period, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, a forecast by EV ownership in the country will rise to 1 million units. Our home winning strategy in Vietnam give us a solid foundation for our overseas expansion and allow us to develop our strategy expertise to drive long-term excellence. Let's turn now into our international markets, where we have quickly adopted our strategy and utilized our unique position to capitalize on favorable changes in our target markets. During Q3 2024, approximately 9% of deliveries were to international markets versus a year ago when international markets only accounted for 3% of delivery. In North America, we are now managing some own showrooms and have pursued a dealership model as well with 42 showrooms. This has enabled us to gather valuable feedback and market our products to a wider base of customers. Our adaptive enhancement sales offer an industry-leading 10 years warranty owning a VinFast electric car, a more practical and accessible option for those seeking good value solutions. In Canada, we observed three consecutive months of growth in July, August and September, with sales up 70% quarter-over-quarter. With increasingly positive response from this market, we have decided to officially add the stunning seven passenger three-row electric vehicle VF 9 recently on November 19, and we are planning to introduce VF 6 and VF 7 at the right time next year. Many local dealers have indicated that 2025 presents a promising opportunity to launch our new beautifully designed and strong performance vehicles. This should position us to complete more effectively with our industry peers in North America market and address the gap in the market for reliable, reasonably price EVs. In late October, we launched our brand in the Middle East and opened our first UAE dealership in Downtown Dubai, offering a full range of electric vehicles with an integrated service workshop for complete customer support. Let's move back to market closer to us. I'm excited to talk about the new kids on the block. In Q3, Indonesia became official with the first deliveries of VF e34 to customers. VF 5 has also been delivered recently, while VF 3 is planned for next year. VF 5 and VF 3 are our responses to the local market appetite for affordable products which accounted for about two-thirds of the overall market vehicles in 2023. As of October 31, we had successfully opened 17 showrooms with numerous plans in progress to further expand our brand presence and enhance options for retail customers. Dealers who visited our plant and test drove our cars have shown nice surprises and positiveness about our product design and quality. We've been working closely with our prestigious dealership group and other partners to provide customers with attractive purchase options. A strong aftersales support is key to keeping customers satisfied. We have established a third-party partnership to provide 24/7 hotlines for roadside assistance to our customers and set up a part distribution center warehouse under DSV, a logistics solutions provider. Indonesia is an interestingly unique market for us. It is a market with large potential and with many EV players. We have identified two key pillars for our Indonesia strategy. First of all, it's battery leasing. As anticipated, customer response to battery leasing has mirrored what we observed in Vietnam when we first launched EV. This one of a kind offering in Indonesia will remain a key differentiator for our tailor go-to-market strategy, driving a growing wave of early adopters. The second pillar to our Indonesia strategy is our ecosystem. GSM is set to launch in Indonesia soon with anticipated impact expected to be substantial, very much like in Vietnam. Potential customers will have unique opportunity to experience our products in real life before making their purchase decision. This not only enhance VinFast brand and product presence but also integrate the VinFast experience seamlessly into daily life. In addition, the CKD factory is progressing as planned, and our commitment to this market remains unchanged and strong. A quick update on the Philippines. Drawing from success in our home market and similar to the approach in Indonesia, we understand that building a comprehensive ecosystem is key to earning customer loyalty. We have set up a part supply warehouse, established logistics partnership and ensure 24/7 roadside assistant support for our customer in the Philippines. We launched the VF 3 first in the Philippines to leverage our existing product market fit, given the demand for an urban mobility offering that is suitable for Manila traffic, and currently have open for reservation, three models in the market. As of October 31, we have established eight showrooms in the Philippines with three located in Manila and other regions. Before we move on to our outlook, let me provide some updates on our global showroom and charging network. As of October 31, 2024, we had 173 showrooms, up from 130 in June as we expanded our dealership network. In Vietnam, we completed our full transition into local dealer network with all 91 stores operated by dealers. Meanwhile, about 50% of our 82 international showrooms are dealers owned. This approach lowers CapEx and optimizes expansion cost by utilizing dealers-owned locations allowing us to focus on supporting our dealers with marketing activities and leveraging their local expertise to accelerate sales. The impact is already shown in our financials, which our CFO will share later. Meanwhile, VinFast customers access to charging points remain extremely comprehensive in the industry. By the end of Q3, our customers had access to over 1 million charge points globally, either a VinFast owned station in Vietnam or through third-party options internationally. In North America, VinFast customers can access approximately 140,000 smart, public and third-party networks, all easily locatable through the VinFast app. The VinFast app aggregates and simplifies the public charging user experience, it allows users to plan travel roots and easily pay as you go for charging within the app instead of having to use multiple apps and digital wallets for different third-party providers. Looking ahead, there's plenty to be excited about at VinFast. Earlier this month, we announced restructuring and financial support from Vingroup and from Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, VinFast Founder, which was designed to equip VinFast with sufficient resources at this critical juncture on our journey towards becoming self-sustaining. The loans from Vingroup and grants for Mr. Pham. Amidst currently unfavorable market conditions allow VinFast to stay focused on executing our business plan and avoid fundraising on unreasonable terms. About 2024 delivery targets. As I mentioned earlier, we are reactivating our 80,000 delivery targets for 2024 and with recent performance in October, we believe we are on track. With that, I will hand it over to our CFO, Lan Anh for the financial highlights.