Founder backs VinFast with R&D acquisition

The Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast is restructuring. Certain research and development assets will be transferred to a newly founded company called Novatech. Subsequently, the majority of Novatech will be sold to founder and CEO Pham Nhat Vuong – for the equivalent of around €1.3 billion.

Specifically, the Novatech Research and Development Joint Stock Company will be spun off from VinFast Trading and Production JSC (VFTP), VinFast’s central production and research company in Vietnam. Novatech will hold selected, completed development projects and their intellectual property rights. After the spin-off, VinFast will initially retain 37.65 per cent of Novatech’s capital – along with nearly all voting rights.

The core business remains with VFTP: The company will continue to manufacture electric vehicles in Vietnam, including the Europe-bound VF6 and VF 8 models, and drive future developments. If VinFast requires Novatech’s technologies for its own production, usage rights will be secured through licensing agreements.

Billion-euro deal with founder

Immediately after the spin-off, VinFast plans to sell its Novatech shares in full to Pham Nhat Vuong, the founder and largest shareholder of VinFast. The purchase price consists of a fair market value of 17.25 trillion Vietnamese Dong (around €560 million) plus a premium, bringing the total to approximately €1.3 billion.

Vuong already holds around 98 per cent of VinFast and its parent company Vingroup and has been a key financier of the company since its founding in 2017. The deal marks his latest capital injection into the loss-making manufacturer, which aims to reach breakeven by the end of 2026.

VinFast posts heavy losses

VinFast, which went public on Nasdaq in 2023, is grappling with weak demand and fierce competition. In 2024, the company delivered 97,399 electric vehicles, nearly tripling its 2023 output – a rise of 192 per cent. VinFast’s total revenue increased 57.9 per cent to around $1.8 billion, while net losses reached approximately $3.18 billion.

In the first quarter of 2025, revenue jumped 150 per cent to $656.5 million. Net losses, however, remained at $712.4 million. Research and development expenses fell 22.3 per cent to $81.2 million over the same period.

For 2025, VinFast aims to deliver 200,000 vehicles – more than double the 2024 figure. The majority of sales will continue to come from its Vietnamese home market. In Germany and France, VinFast recently revised its sales model, switching from direct sales via its own showrooms to partner dealerships.

bnnbloomberg.ca, sec.gov

This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition.