VinFast Auto Ltd.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to VinFast Auto Limited third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in the listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Alternatively, you may submit your questions via the webcast. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I'd now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Nhi Nguyen. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. This is Nhi Nguyen from VinFast Investor Relations. Welcome to our third quarter earnings conference call. Joining me today are Chairwoman of the Board, Madam Pui Le, and our CFO, Ms. Lan Anh Nguyen. During the call, we will discuss our third quarter performance, business update, and present our outlook for the remainder of 2024. After management remarks, we will have 30 minutes for Q&A. We will also reference a slide deck today, which is accessible on the IR website. Before I turn the call over to Madam Thuy, let me remind you that some of the statements on this call include forward-looking statements under federal securities law. These include, without limitation, statements regarding the future financial and operating outlook, guidance, macroeconomics, industry trends, company initiatives, and other future events. These statements are based on the prediction and expectation as of today. Actual events or results may differ due to a number of risks and uncertainties. We refer you to the cautionary language and the risk factors in our most recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, management will refer to non-GAAP financial during this call A discussion of why we use non-GAAP and information regarding the reconciliation of our non-GAAP versus GAAP is available in the PR that we issued this morning. You can also find it on our presentation. With that, I would like to invite Madam Thuy to start with the management remarks.

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 whole market. For the first time, a Vietnamese OEM, which has been around for only seven years and only pivoted to a pure EV strategy only 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 enters 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 have 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 networks and continuous improvement of our EVs. With nine months 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, BinFast remains committed to balancing growth and profitability while being nimble to respond to market opportunities. Now, let me discuss our Q3 deliveries in more detail. 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 a 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 market. where retail sales grew 159% quarter over quarter and 504% year over year in Q3 2024. Thanks to our VF3 and VF5, for the first time, Vietnamese customers realized that they could have decent, cool-looking, strong-built EVs at a very reasonable price. VF3 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 costs and a sturdy build, 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 VF3. VF5, appealing to both personal and business users, 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 allows many transportation businesses to lower expenses and improve profitability. We view this as a major step forward in developing sustainable transportation options in Vietnam. We believe our whole market holds significant potential beyond the success that you've already 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 Manufacturers, car ownership in Vietnam remains low, with only 55 cars per 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 forecast that EV ownership in the country will rise to a 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 adapted our strategy and utilized our unique position to capitalize on favorable changes in our target market. During Q3 2024, approximately 9% of deliveries were to international markets versus a year ago when international markets only accounted for 3% of deliveries. 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 self-offer and industry-leading 10 years warranty made 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, VF9, recently on November 19. And we are planning to introduce VF6 and VF7 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 industry peers in North America market and address the gap in the market for reliable reasonably priced 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 markets closer to us. I'm excited to talk about the new kits on the block. In Q3, Indonesia became official with the first deliveries of VFE34 to customers. VF5 has also been delivered recently, while VF3 is planned for next year. VF5 and VF3 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 31st, we have 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 car 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 after-sales support is key to keeping customers satisfied. We have established a third-party partnership to provide a 24-7 hotline for roadside assistance to our customers and set up a part distribution center warehouse under DSV, a logistic 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 is 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 tailored 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 impacts expected to be substantial, very much like in Vietnam. Potential customer 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 a plan 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 logistic partnership, and ensure 24-7 roadside assistance support for our customers in the Philippines. We launched the VF3 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 31st, 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 31st, 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 dealer's own 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 financial, which our CFO will share later. Meanwhile, Binfast customers access to charging points remain extremely comprehensive in the industry. By the end of Q3, our customers had access to over 1 million chess points globally, either at VinFast's own 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 routes 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 Phuong, VinFast's founder. which was designed to equip VinFast with sufficient resources at this critical juncture on our journey toward 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 reiterating our 80,000 delivery target 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.