Vinfast, the car-making arm of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, on Friday inaugurated and put into commercial production Vietnam’s first-ever automobile manufacturing factory in the northern city of Hai Phong.

Covering more than 500,000 square meters at Dinh Vu Industrial Park in Cat Hai District, the Vinfast car-making plant is designed to manufacture 250,000 cars each year in the first phase, and 500,000 per year in the second phase.

The factory is equipped with advanced machinery imported from Europe. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Inside the Vinfast plant. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

The facility, whose workshops are connected uninterruptedly and highly automated, is the most important part of the Vinfast automobile and e-scooter production complex, whose construction only began less than two years ago, on September 2, 2017.

Vinfast has thus set a record in the global auto industry when this factory was built in only 21 months.

“The record construction speed is an indicator of the great aspiration and enthusiasm by leaders and workers of the Vinfast factory to create a miracle in the auto industry of Vietnam and the world,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in his remarks at the opening ceremony.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers remarks at the ceremony. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

The Hai Phong plant is now the only factory in Vietnam able to perform the core automobile production steps, including producing the main parts of a car like chassis and engine, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairman and director general of Vingroup, shared at the ceremony that during the 21-month factory construction, Vinfast also completed and introduced one e-scooter and three automobile models. The Fadil will be delivered from June 17 while the first Lux A2.0 and Lux SA2.0 cars will be handed over to customers in late July.

Meanwhile, 12 other car and e-scooter models are being designed and will make debut this year and 2020.

The factory was built in only 21 months. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Officials are seen at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Vinfast automobile manufacturing plant in Hai Phong, northern Vietnam, June 14, 2019. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Inside the plant. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese and foreign engineers work at the plant. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) tours the plant. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Guests are invited to test out Vinfast cars at the event. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Complete cars are seen at the plant. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

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