It has been a problem for Vietnamese electrical car maker VinFast to crack the U.S. market amid robust competitors and softening demand.

VinFast lower month-to-month lease costs for its first U.S. consumers to $399, down from $599 per 30 days. American rivals like Tesla slashed costs to draw extra clients and drive gross sales, whereas Lucid forecast lower-than-expected 2023 manufacturing after orders dropped.

However VinFast CEO stays optimistic on the long-term demand for EVs.

“I feel everybody agrees that the entire trade or the entire world is shifting from inner combustion engine to EVs,” CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy stated on CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia” on Tuesday.

“And in the event you take that view, and in the event you take a look at the laws in all completely different international locations and and picture what number of electrical automobiles should be on the highway within the coming years, within the coming decade, there’s quite a lot of room for lots of gamers out there,” stated Le.

She added that VinFast is getting into the market “with clear approaches” reminiscent of providing premium high quality and accessibility for the mass market with out slicing corners in cybersecurity and practical security.

“We nonetheless have so much to show. It is so much forward of us,” Le stated.

Software program issues delayed deliveries of VinFast’s first batch of vehicles to U.S. consumers from December 2022 till March 2023. However on March 1, solely 45 SUVs arrived out of 999 EVs that had been purported to be delivered.

VinFast vehicles are additionally at present ineligible for the $7,500 tax credit score within the U.S. as a result of they aren’t made within the U.S., however are made in Vietnam — which can influence their U.S. gross sales.

“After all, in the long term, we are also pushing for the vegetation in North Carolina and to ensure that sooner or later, our automobiles can be certified for tax advantages beneath the IRA,” stated Le.

Le beforehand informed CNBC that the agency is within the closing phases of acquiring permits for its manufacturing plant in North Carolina and that the plant is on monitor to begin manufacturing in 2024.

Whereas the corporate filed for an preliminary public providing in December, it has not but launched its roadshow.

“For us, it is not about elevating monies nevertheless it’s so much about making the corporate extra worldwide and different company functions and the market has been difficult as you understand,” stated Le.