Vietnamese electric vehicle start-up
VinFast
reported impressive delivery growth for 2023, but the numbers fell short of its own guidance.
VinFast shares fell 2.5% in midday trading Thursday to $5.62 apiece, while the
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
were up 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
On Thursday, VinFast announced fourth-quarter deliveries of 13,513 units. On its own, that’s a solid number: Prior to 2023, VinFast had only delivered about 7,500 units over the life of the company.
Fourth-quarter sales rose about 35% compared with the third quarter. Full-year sales came in at 34,855 units, up in the range of 400% year over year.
But VinFast told investors in October it planned to deliver between 40,000 and 50,000 EVs in 2023, not including e-scooter sales. It missed the low end of its guidance by roughly 5,000 units.
“Our fourth quarter 2023 saw a jump in vehicle deliveries compared to prior quarters,” said Tran Mai Hoa, VinFast’s deputy CEO of sales and marketing in a news release. “However, amid economic headwinds, slow EV adoption rate in certain regions has adversely affected deliveries plan.”
Thursday’s stock move actually looks relatively small for VinFast shares, which are notoriously volatile. VinFast stock traded as high as $93 in August and as low as $4.59 in October. The daily average move for the shares has been about 10%, up or down, since VinFast completed its merger with a special purpose acquisition company in
August.
VinFast stands out among Asian EV start-ups because it sells cars in the U.S. Companies such as
Li Auto,
XPeng,
and
NIO,
don’t. VinFast sold 3,129 units in the U.S. in 2023, the first year it sold cars in the U.S.
The company reports full fourth-quarter financial results on Feb. 22. Analysts and investors will be looking for a forecast for 2024 along with an explanation of the guidance miss in 2023.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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