RALEIGH, NC—VinFast, a Vietnamese manufacturer of electric vehicles, has chosen North Carolina for its first North American automotive and battery assembly plant, which will create 7,500 jobs. The manufacturing plant will be built at the Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County.

The $2 billion project will be North Carolina’s first automotive assembly plant, and it’s the largest economic development announcement in state history.

VinFast’s manufacturing campus will be built on a 1,977-acre plot with three main areas: electric car and bus assembly; battery assembly; and a staging area for parts suppliers.

Construction for phase 1 of the factory will start this year, with production slated for July 2024. VinFast expects to make 150,000 vehicles per year. Vehicles to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a seven-passenger all-electric SUV and the VinFast VF 8, a five-passenger, all-electric midsize SUV.

“Automotive assembly plants are incredible engines for economic growth, due to the positive ripple effects they create across a region’s economy,” says North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders.

VinFast was founded in 2017 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup. Headquartered in located in Hanoi, Vietnam, the company operates a state-of-the-art assembly plant facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam, that will be able to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026.