Vietnam’s EV Maker VinFast Plans Factory in India

Vietnam’s EV Maker VinFast Plans Factory in India

越南电动汽车制造商VinFast计划在印度建厂

【听力音频】

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　　By Dan Friedell

　　14 January 2024

　　Vietnamese electric vehicle company VinFast recently announced its plans to build a $2 billion production center in southern India.

　　The new factory is expected to produce up to 150,000 cars per year once it is completed.

　　The project will include an opening investment of $500 million. Construction will start this year. The production centers are expected to support over 3,000 jobs in the Tamil Nadu state.

　　The center will be close to the port city of Thootukudi.

　　VinFast started in 2017 and has been producing electric vehicles since 2021. It already announced plans for a factory in the southern U.S. state of North Carolina. The factory there will cost $4 billion to complete and vehicle production is expected to begin this year.

　　VinFast brought its cars to market in the U.S. for the first time in 2023. The cars have not sold well in the U.S. because they have received some bad reviews and there are questions about their quality. VinFast officials, however, believe the company can succeed in the U.S.

　　The company's stock is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and, for a short time, its shares were worth more than Ford and General Motors. However, by the end of 2023, the company had lost more than $1.4 billion.

　　VinFast said it hopes to sell its cars in 50 markets by the end of 2024. It announced a $400 million factory in Indonesia late last year. VinFast cars will be used in Laos by Green SM, a taxi company mostly owned by VinFast's founder.

　　The production center is the first move by VinFast to enter the growing Indian market. The country has one of the fastest-growing electric vehicle markets in the world. India has launched a $1.3 billion plan to support electric vehicle manufacturing and use.

　　However, of the 2.3 million EVs in use in India, most are inexpensive motorbikes, rickshaws and scooters. Some experts wonder if there are enough Indians who have the money to purchase a costly electric car.

　　VinFast is part of Vingroup, which was started as an instant noodle company in Ukraine in the 1990s by Pham Nhat Vuong, who is now Vietnam's richest man.

　　I'm Dan Friedell.

　　Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

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　　作者：Dan Friedell

　　日期：2024年1月14日

　　越南电动汽车公司VinFast近日宣布计划在印度南部建设一个20亿美元的生产中心。

　　新工厂预计在建成后每年可生产多达150,000辆汽车。

　　该项目将包括5亿美元的初始投资。建设将于今年开始。预计生产中心将在泰米尔纳德邦提供超过3,000个就业岗位。

　　这个中心将靠近港口城市图图科林。

　　VinFast公司成立于2017年，并从2021年开始生产电动汽车。它已经宣布了在美国南部州北卡罗来纳建厂的计划。那里的工厂建设成本将达到40亿美元，预计今年将开始生产汽车。

　　VinFast在2023年首次将其汽车引入美国市场。由于这些汽车收到了一些不好的评价，人们对其质量有疑问，所以在美国的销售情况并不好。然而，VinFast的官员们相信，该公司可以在美国取得成功。

　　该公司的股票在纳斯达克交易所上市，有一段时间，其股票价值超过了福特和通用汽车。然而，到2023年底，该公司已经亏损超过14亿美元。

　　VinFast表示，希望到2024年底在50个市场销售其汽车。去年底，它在印度尼西亚宣布了一个4亿美元的工厂。VinFast的汽车将被Green SM在老挝使用，这是一家主要由VinFast的创始人拥有的出租车公司。

　　这个生产中心是VinFast进入日益增长的印度市场的第一步。印度拥有全球增长最快的电动汽车市场之一。印度已经启动了一个13亿美元的计划，以支持电动汽车的制造和使用。

　　然而，在印度使用的230万辆电动汽车中，大多数是价格低廉的摩托车、人力车和电动滑板车。一些专家怀疑是否有足够的印度人有钱购买昂贵的电动汽车。

　　VinFast是Vingroup的一部分，该公司由现在是越南最富有的人Pham Nhat Vuong在1990年代在乌克兰创立，最初是一家即食面公司。

　　我是Dan Friedell。

　　Dan Friedell根据美联社的一篇报道为英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　故事中的词汇

　　construction –n. 建设，建筑过程

　　review –n. 评论，评价，对产品或服务的意见

　　taxi –n. 出租车，根据行驶距离收费的载客汽车

　　inexpensive –adj. 不昂贵的；便宜的

　　rickshaw –n. 人力车，通常由人力或非常小的引擎驱动的小型轻便车辆

　　scooter –n. 滑板车，一种小型的、有轮子的、供一个人使用的车辆