VinFast Auto Ltd. (VFS) Q4 2025 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the VinFast Q4 2025 Financial Results and Q&A. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Amandae Baey, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to VinFast quarterly earnings call. Joining me today are Chairwoman of the Board, Madam Thuy Le; Deputy CEO of Investments, Ms. Anne Pham; and our CFO, Ms. Lan Anh Nguyen. Before we begin this call, please note today's call will include forward-looking statements under U.S. federal securities law. These statements reflect our current views on future events, financial operational performance and other matters that involve risks and uncertainties. These may cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for a discussion of these risk factors. We will also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of these measures to GAAP figures, along with an explanation are included in our presentation issued earlier today. With that, I would like to invite Madam Thuy to begin the management remarks.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be with you again. 2025 was another landmark year for VinFast. But more importantly, it was a year of disciplined investment behind our core mission, making electric mobility accessible to everyone. Fourth quarter of 2025 was our strongest quarter to date across several key financial metrics. Every strategic decision we make, including investing in technology, industrial capabilities and global expansion is anchored to that objective. Let me briefly reflect on our evolution. From 2017 to 2023, we established our brand and industrial foundation with a firm belief that electrification is the future of mobility. In 2024, we earned the trust of customers in our home market, Vietnam, and became the #1 mobility brand in the country by vehicle sales, a position that we continue to maintain to date. So during 2025, we rolled out a comprehensive product portfolio to serve diverse mobility use cases, laid the foundation for a green mobility ecosystem in international markets and shared plans about our next generation of vehicles that are built on a new platform and new EE architecture. Across the industry, there is a clear shift as electric mobility companies move towards AI-driven software-defined vehicles. VinFast has been working on this since day one with our R&D philosophy centered around a vertically integrated software-defined EV platform. With over 400,000 cumulative cars delivered and more than 4 years of real-world driving data accumulated, our engineers are able to design ADAS and software road maps with the customers in mind. For 2026, our strategic investment focused on scale and unit cost optimization, which are the primary levers in our path to profitability. This will be supported by overseas capacity expansion, the commercialization of the next-gen vehicles and the integration of more AI across our vehicles and factories to deliver smart cars and more efficient production. With that, I would like to frame the 3 key points that you should take away from this call. First, VinFast is more than just an EV manufacturer. We are a vertically integrated software-defined EV platform with smart manufacturing to deliver scalable electric mobility solutions. Second, we are expanding our capacity to enter international markets in the coming years. We are deliberate in making this investment now as it provides us with flexibility to enter new markets quickly. And finally, scale matters at VinFast. With scale comes further operational efficiencies. We delivered 196,919 EVs for the full year. This exceeded our guidance to at least double the number of EVs delivered in 2024. In Q4 alone, we delivered 86,557 EVs. That was a new quarterly record for the company. Our 2-wheeler segment also reached a new high. Full year deliveries grew [ 5.7x ] to 406,496 units. Looking ahead, our 2026 guidance is targeting at least 300,000 EV deliveries. This is supported by introducing new models in our international markets, the build-out of our dealer network across Asia, Europe and North America and lastly, the continued expansion in international markets. Following the strong momentum of VinFast e-scooter segment achieved in 2025, we expect 2-wheeler deliveries to be at least 2.5x last year volume for 2026. This growth will be driven by VinFast e-scooter expansion into Asian markets, the rollout of V-Green battery swapping network for e-scooters and our focused positioning in the largest product segment. Turning to our new markets and manufacturing operations. Starting in Vietnam, while VinFast has maintained the #1 OEM position and taken market share from other OEMs. We ended 2025 with an estimated 36% market share compared to 22% in 2024. VF-3 and VF-5 accounted for 51% of domestic volumes. We are also pleased to see the increased contribution from VF-6 and Limo Green. On the 2-wheeler segment, we ended the year as #1 electric scooter player in Vietnam. For the first time since we started selling internationally, overseas markets accounted for 18% of our fourth quarter deliveries. For the full year 2025, international markets contributed 11% of our deliveries. Our disciplined approach to overseas expansion is also reflected in our ranking. In particular, in India, we made steady progress in Vahan registration amongst BEV brands, ranking #8 in October, #7 in November and #4 in December. We have maintained our position since then to date. In Indonesia, we ended 2025 as #3 BEV brand according to Gaikindo and as the #2 BEV brand in the Philippines according to CAMPI. Product expansion has further broadened VinFast's market reach. We introduced Green, our commercial-focused product line and Lac Hong, our ultra-luxury brand. VinFast now has 3 distinct brands catering to different customer segments. In the fourth quarter, our commercial line, Green saw strong traction from fleet and B2B customers and accounted for nearly half of total deliveries. In 2025, approximately 27% of our deliveries were to related parties, primarily the EV ride-hailing platform, GSM, broadly stable year-over-year with a higher share of approximately 33% in the fourth quarter as GSM rapidly scaled its fleet network in Indonesia and the Philippines as part of its Southeast Asia expansion. Manufacturing utilization and operational efficiency continue to improve with the Hai Phong plant rolling out its 200,000 vehicle of the year and producing nearly 26,000 EVs in December alone. Last year, we inaugurated our manufacturing facility in Ha Tinh, Vietnam. Our first overseas manufacturing facility was opened in Tamil Nadu, India in August. And in December, we opened our second factory overseas in Subang, Indonesia. Now turning to our priorities for 2026. Let's start with manufacturing. VinFast today operates 4 manufacturing facilities globally with combined annual capacity of 600,000 EVs and 500,000 e-scooters. Looking ahead, we will continue to strengthen this foundation by expanding production capacity for EVs and e-scooters in Vietnam while evaluating further development phases in India and Indonesia to position these facilities as future export hubs. We also expect to resume construction of our North Carolina factory in 2026 with a plan to SOP in 2028. We will provide further details in the coming months. It is important to note that VinFast has embedded smart manufacturing processes across all our facilities to enable scalable electric mobility solutions, and we'll provide further updates on this area shortly. On the product front, VinFast has completed the strategic launch of its EV portfolio under 3 distinct brands, each with a clear market focus and identity. The VinFast brand comprising VinFast core passenger EV lineup from VF-3 to VF-9. The Green brand of commercial EVs for fleet use, including Limo, Herio, Nerio and Minio Green. And lastly, the ultra-luxury Lac Hong series. As part of this repositioning, we are introducing two 7-seater MPV models, the Limo Green and the VF MPV 7 to address different customer segments with plans to launch both across key Asian markets. Additionally, the next generation of VF-6 and VF-7 is expected to SOP in the second half 2026. These 4 models are designed to deliver a lower BOM cost by reducing complexity and number of components through our new platform and next-generation EV architecture. I'm also pleased to share that VinFast is developing several range extender EV models, beginning with VF-8 REEV. Introducing range extender vehicles allows us to address a broader segment of the electrification market. We view range extender technology as a practical interim step in the transition from internal combustion engines to fully battery electric vehicles, particularly in markets where charging infrastructure is still developing. We will provide additional updates on this program in the coming quarters. In our core Asian markets, we will continue expanding our dealer network to support long-term growth. We plan to double our dealer footprint in India and partner with large dealership groups in Indonesia and the Philippines. This expansion will move in parallel with GSM international growth as we continue building out the broader green mobility ecosystem. At the same time, we are expanding our 2-wheeler strategy across Asia with plans to introduce our e-scooter business in 5 markets, including Thailand, Malaysia and the other 3 existing Asian markets, while GSM is also exploring opportunities to enter the U.S. and European markets. For Europe, we plan to introduce the next generation of B-SUV, the VF-6 model. For North America markets, we plan to bring the VF-7, a C-segment electric SUV and to also launch our e-bus business later this year. Now I will turn it over to Anne, who will take you through the latest on VinFast technology platform.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. VinFast is more than an EV manufacturer. Our mission is to make electric mobility accessible to everyone, which directly shapes how we allocate capital and make strategic investments. We are deliberately investing in owning more of our technology stack so that we can deliver more compelling features at a lower cost over time. At Mobility Day last November, we shared our autonomy road map for Level 2+ and Level 2++ towards Level 4 with a demonstration of a self-driving robot car in partnership with Autobrains Technologies at Vinhomes Ocean Park, a project in Vietnam. A leading AI mobility company based in Israel, Autobrains has been working with us for a number of years. VinFast has taken a capital-efficient approach with an in-house ADAS research institute while working with strategic technology partners for Level 4. We also plan to expand our trials of Robo-Car to larger cities and international markets. We are also pleased to share that we've entered into a collaboration with Tensor, a pioneering AI company developing personally owned Level 4 autonomous robo cars company based in California. Under this partnership, VinFast will serve as the manufacturing and industrialization partner for Tensor's Robo-Car program. Fully functional prototypes of the program have already been tested by Tensor across multiple regions, and the program is currently in the preproduction phase and is being advanced towards commercialization. This collaboration is compelling for both a commercial and financial standpoint while reinforcing VinFast's strategic role in the next generation of mobility solutions. In parallel, we are also in active discussions with a number of technology and mobility companies exploring robotaxi development. We look forward to sharing further updates as these discussions progress in the coming quarters. Internally, we continue to make steady progress in owning more of our core technology stack and expanding our in-house software capabilities. Earlier this year, we introduced a suite of subscription packages in Vietnam that include proprietary remote control functions and smart features developed internally at VinFast and across the broader Vingroup ecosystem. At the same time, we are advancing our transition to EE 2.0 as part of a structural cost initiative this year. This shift is expected to drive meaningful reductions in our BOM cost structure through ECU consolidation, simplified wiring harness design and greater component commonality across models. Our new EE 2.0 demonstrates how our in-house software capabilities are doing more than enhancing the next generation of VinFast vehicles. We're beginning to see interest from external parties in this technology as a stand-alone solution, which provides early validation of our R&D capabilities and could represent a potential new revenue stream over the longer term. In the near term, we plan to expand these subscription offerings to additional markets alongside the rollout of localized voice assistance strategies across key Asian markets. We look forward to sharing more details as these initiatives continue to develop. Finally, turning to manufacturing. As Madam Thuy shared earlier, VinFast has embedded smart manufacturing processes across all of its facilities. This is a key pillar of our vertically integrated software-defined EV platform and central to our long-term profitability. Within the Vingroup ecosystem, VinFast works very closely with a sister company called VinRobotics to accelerate the development of advanced robotics and intelligent automation across its operations. VinRobotics focuses on 2 core segments: industrial humanoid robots developed in-house and a scalable non-humanoid physical AI platform that combines robotics hardware with intelligent software. By integrating VinRobotics proprietary mechanical systems, intelligent controls and AI-driven computer vision into VinFast manufacturing operations, the partnership aims to enhance productivity, improve quality and reduce operating costs while advancing the broader goal of building the smart factory of the future. VinFast also expects to be the manufacturing partner to VinRobotics, along with 2 other robotics companies within the Vingroup ecosystem, namely VinMotion and VinDynamics. Now taking a step back, I'd like to highlight the in-house R&D capabilities at VinFast and the broader Vingroup technology ecosystem that supports VinFast's long-term innovation road map. At the core of these efforts are our in-house ADAS and battery research institutes, which are focused on developing next-generation technologies that will be integrated into future VinFast vehicles. Within the Vingroup ecosystem, a number of specialized technology companies are developing capabilities that can be leveraged across multiple businesses. What initially began with VinFast at the center of a green mobility ecosystem, spanning EVs, charging infrastructure through V-Green and electric mobility services through GSM is now evolving into a broader platform of advanced technologies. Across this ecosystem, teams are developing core capabilities ranging from software platforms and cybersecurity to robotics and automation. A notable example is our collaboration with VinRobotics, which I have highlighted earlier. As Vingroup continues to incubate new technology platforms, VinFast expects to deepen collaboration across the ecosystem and provide further updates on these initiatives in the coming quarters. Now I'll hand it over to Lan Anh to discuss our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. Lan Anh, please.

Thank you, Anh. Our 2025 results reflects a focus on accelerating revenue growth while improving operating efficiency over time. By exceeding our 2025 guidance and operating at roughly 2/3 of our flagship factory's capacity during December, we have demonstrated our ability to scale in a disciplined manner. At the same time, the sales policies and promotional initiatives introduced to sharpen brand awareness in our key markets are starting to gain traction. Concurrently, our ongoing cost optimization programs are beginning to deliver tangible results, and we are seeing early signs of operating leverage emerge in the business. Fourth quarter of 2025 reflected the strongest financial performance we have delivered to date with several key metrics reaching new levels as we begin to see early benefits of scale. As Madam Thuy and Anne highlighted, strengthening VinFast's competitiveness requires deliberate strategic investments that are essential to improving efficiency, enhancing cost control and positioning the company for the more sustainable margin profile over the long term. Now let me walk you through our results in more detail. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 was USD 1.6 billion, up by 118% quarter-over-quarter and 139% year-over-year. Full year revenue was USD 3.6 billion, increased by 105% year-over-year. Gross margin was negative 40% in Q4 2025 compared to negative 79% in Q4 2024. For the full year, gross margin improved to negative 43% compared to a negative 57% in 2024, with full year revenue increased by 105% and fourth quarter revenue up 139% year-over-year. Higher production volumes allowed us to better absorb fixed manufacturing overhead and improve operating leverage. Recall that in fiscal year 2024, revenue was impacted by a onetime adjustment related to our free charging program. We applied the program retrospectively to all vehicles delivered through 31st of December 2024, which resulted in revenue reduction recorded in that quarter. If we exclude the impact mostly due to the free charging program, vehicles sold for which revenue has been deferred and NRV adjustment, we are seeing a clearer view of the underlying improvement in our operating performance. Excluding these items, gross margin for Q4 2025 would have been negative 28% compared to negative 26% in Q4 2024. On a full year basis, gross margin would have been negative 24% as compared to negative 32% in 2024. Moving to the operating expenses. R&D expenses were USD 114 million, increasing 7% quarter-over-quarter and 7% year-over-year. R&D spending in the quarter was primarily driven by continued investment in our next-generation vehicle platforms and core technology stack, particularly in ADAS L2+ development and our EE 2.0 architecture as well as ongoing model refreshing programs across vehicles. R&D as a percentage of revenue was 7%, the lowest in the past 5 quarters, reflecting the benefits of scale. As revenue growth outpaced R&D spend, fixed R&D investment were leveraged more efficiency across larger volumes, improving operating leverage while we continue to advance our core technology road map. SG&A expenses were USD 391 million, increasing 126% quarter-over-quarter and 50% year-over-year. The sequential increase was primarily driven by higher marketing expenses associated with the launch of new models across multiple markets. During the quarter, we also booked approximately USD 236 million impairment for our North Carolina factory. This impairment charge is a one-off expense and reflects management's decision to take a disciplined approach to accounting adjustment associated with changes in project timing and development assumptions. It does not represent a change in our long-term strategic commitment to the U.S. market. And as Madam Thuy mentioned earlier, we expect to resume construction in the North Carolina factory this year. Excluding this one-off impairment charge, SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue would have been 10% compared to 24% in Q3 2025 and 40% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This improvement reflects the benefits of scale and the cost optimization achieved through our transition to a dealer model. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was negative USD 1 billion, a 20% decline year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at negative 65% compared to negative 80% in Q3 2025 and negative 129% in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2025 came in at negative 66% compared to negative 103% in fiscal year 2024. Excluding the impact mostly due to delayed revenue recognition, impairment charge relating to the U.S. factory and adjusting for NRV, adjusted EBITDA margin would have been negative 37% in Q4 2025 compared to negative 36% in Q3 2025 and negative 52% in the same period last year. Net loss for the quarter was negative USD 1.4 billion. Net loss margin for the quarter improved to negative 89% compared to negative 186% a year ago, an improvement of 96% year-over-year. Fiscal year 2025 net loss margin is negative 108% compared to negative 176% in fiscal year 2024, an improvement of 68% year-over-year. Excluding the impact mostly due to delay in revenue recognition, impairment charges, which mostly related to changes in project timing of U.S. factory and adjusting for NRV, net loss margin would have been negative 62% in Q4 2025 compared to negative 84% in Q3 2025 and negative 94% in the same period last year. Finally, EPS for fourth quarter of 2025 was negative USD 0.6, a decline of 15% year-over-year from fourth quarter of 2024. Full year 2025 EPS was negative USD 1.65 compared to full year 2024 EPS of negative USD 1.32. Excluding similar items, EPS for the fourth quarter of 2025 would have been USD 0.41 and full year 2025, it would have been USD 1.25, a decline of 15% year-over-year. CapEx for the quarter was USD 304 million, an increase of 16% quarter-over-quarter and 25% year-over-year, driven by CapEx across our new overseas factories and expansion at our Vietnam facilities. Total CapEx for 2025 was USD 922 million. Finally, an update on our liquidity and previously announced grant and borrowings commitment in late 2024. As of the 31st of December 2025, VinFast's outstanding borrowings from Vingroup under this commitment was USD 413 million. The company received a total USD 1.1 billion disbursement from our founder pursuant to the grant agreement. Our total liquidity as of 31st of December 2025 is USD 3.1 billion, which reflects cash funding commitment from Vingroup and our founder and an ELOC facility. Turning to our 2026 outlook. As Madam Thuy noted earlier, scale will be the key driver of operational efficiency. This will be supported by our priorities of expanding manufacturing capacity, strengthening product competitiveness and accelerating international expansion, we expect revenue growth in 2026 to be driven by a combination of higher volumes, modest improvement of ASP and product mix evolution across markets. Operator, let's open for Q&A.

[Operator Instructions]

Operator, while we get the live questions, let's move on to the WebEx questions. We've got a few of them.

Sure. Please go ahead.

The first question we have is from Jesse actually. There have been rumors you'll be interested in launching a hybrid vehicle. Can you confirm this is something you're interested in pursuing? And if so, how could it impact your future financial results? And would you like to take this question?

Certainly. Well, VF-8 REEV was planned for launch in Vietnam starting 2027 and with overseas rollout expected over time. The development basically leverages our existing BEV platforms and incremental R&D requirements will be fairly manageable. We also expect limited impact on broader R&D priorities for the next couple of years as we have very well planned out our R&D road map, our ADAS as well as our EE architecture. REEV for us is viewed as a practical interim solution to expand EV accessibility and address a broader market segment as opposed to a material shift. Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from [ Chang Ho of HSC. ] Congratulations on the quarter's results. Could you please elaborate on the drivers behind the narrowing of the gross profit loss and whether these improvements are sustainable in the coming quarters? Additionally, could you share the recent results or achievements in your key export markets and the company's plans for these markets going forward? Lan Anh, would you like to take this?

Okay. So for the narrowing of the gross profit loss, the improvement is mainly driven by BOM optimization and production scale, supplier pricing, localization and engineering optimization. And we believe these drivers are sustainable. The largest reduction in BOM cost, VF6, around 13% and VF-7 around 23% in BOM cost reduction. In 2026, we expect further improvements across multiple models with -- around 20% up to -- I think maybe the 30% cost reduction, supported by our transition to next-generation vehicle platforms in the following years. So we also expect more moderate around 5% annual BOM optimization. So for the part of the international markets, we also saw a very strong ramp-up in deliveries in Indonesia, the Philippines and India in Q4 2025, with international deliveries accounting for about 17% of total deliveries. And for India, we also have India positioned as a strategic long-term growth market. And -- but for the other markets like Indonesia and the Philippines also, that we leverage for the brand awareness with the cooperation, GSM for the brand awareness, both for the consumer like a perspective. So we expect that we can boost our overseas sales in 2026 also.

Thank you, Lan Anh. The next question we have is a macro question. So I think Madam Thuy will take this. With oil prices trending higher, do you expect that to influence EV adoption dynamics? And separately, could you comment on the current macro environment and how that could potentially affect VinFast's operating outlook?

Thank you, Amandae. Well, we -- I think, everywhere in Vietnam as well, we immediately, we saw the impact of higher oil prices where people started switching to EVs or even for the ride-hailing of taxi, we started seeing people choosing consciously our GSM platform over the normal taxi. Higher oil prices reinforce the long-term EV value proposition as consumer focus more on total cost of ownership. So fuel prices may influence short-term sentiment, but structural EV adoption drivers remain affordability, product availability and charging infrastructure, which are everything that we're working toward. Our strategy focused on improving cost competitiveness and expanding the product lineup to broaden EV accessibility. We monitor macro developments closely, especially now, but no material impact on operating outlook at this stage right now. Our expansion focus on markets where EV adoption remains early with strong long-term growth potential. Priority remains scaling production, improving cost efficiency and executing the product road map. We -- the industry commentary suggests about $4 per gallon gasoline could accelerate mass EV adoption. So in some of the states in the U.S. right now, we're exceeding that level as well.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. The next question from the WebEx is regarding our North Carolina factory. It's good to hear an update about the North Carolina factory. Could you elaborate on your decision to proceed with a U.S. manufacturing presence when EV demand is expected to be slower? And could you also share some more color on the impairment charge that you took?

So like for the last years, right, we've been saying that we are committed to the U.S. market, and U.S. is an important market to us, and we still commit to that. U.S. still remains an important strategic market for us. And U.S. manufacturing base provides flexibility as the market conditions and regulations evolve. North Carolina factory construction expected to resume this year. We have been working in the background towards that and the SOP is targeted for 2028. For -- out of prudence, we recorded a $236 million impairment in Q4 2025. This was a one-off charge reflecting the revised project timing. However, we expect that we will reverse this impairment in the future as the factory construction will start again. Again, there's no change to long-term commitment to the U.S. market.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. The next question is regarding our ADAS strategy. How much of the cost reduction will come from simplifying the hardware stack or tailoring features to different markets? Anne, would you like to take that question?

Thanks, Amandae. Well, I think, first of all, the next-generation ADAS stack will launch with refreshes in the VF-6,VF-7. SOP is started to be from the second half of 2026 onwards. So it will be a combination of both simplifying the hardware stack as well as tailoring features to different markets that will really be the anchors of our strategy. So the new architecture basically will use more integrated computing and simplified hardware stack. And at the same time, we're also increasing the component of in-house development in order to reduce reliance on third parties and being able to tailor the features to different markets. And both of these features, as I've mentioned, will help us lower the cost. I hope that answers the question.

Thank you, Anne. The next question is regarding the company's CapEx plans. Can you please share what the company's CapEx plans are for 2026? Lan Anh, would you like to take this?

Yes. Okay. So in 2026, -- in 2026, most of the -- our CapEx is still going into building out the core manufacturing footprint, roughly USD 400 million for domestic and around USD 600 million for international factories. And then additional CapEx like for machinery and equipment. So in 2026, 2027, our CapEx needs are a continuation of our intention to scale our manufacturing globally as we position the overseas factory as export hubs. We expect to incur CapEx for Phase 2 of Indonesia and India factories. and CapEx for Phase 1 of U.S. factory, as Madam Thuy just mentioned. So that kind of action to account for the future business plans to introduce e-scooter and e-buses also in those markets.

Thank you, Lan Anh. The next question is regarding the VF-7. Can you walk us through the VF-7's current status for North America, specifically where it stands in the regulatory approval process, expected time line for deliveries and whether production will come out of the India or Vietnam facility? And separately, any update on dealership and service center expansion in the region? Madam Thuy, please?

So we are preparing to bring the VF-7 to the U.S. before the end of the year. I think we're pretty much done with all the regulatory approval process, homologations and all the approvals. I think the target is to start the production by the end of next month and with the plan to bring the VF7 soon after. This is going to be -- this is a midsized crossover SUV, so in that segment. And we focus on the customer experience, the feature competitiveness and ownership value rather than other features. So this is going to be a very good addition to the market and will help elevate the VF-8 as we bring more VF-8 to the market. Regarding the dealers, the dealership network and the service center, we are -- until -- I mean, with all the uncertainties in the U.S. market with the EVs in the U.S. and the automotive tariff, right? So until we have the factory open in 2028, we will take a very disciplined approach with our expanding our dealership network. And I think this year, we're looking to add more like 2 more dealers in California, where we sell -- where EV sell the most, and we maintain the existing dealership network. I think our focus is trying to make sure that the dealers will be profitable and retain the dealers that were willing to invest in the brand and continue to stay with us for a long run. In terms of repair, the service shop, our strategy is to expand also the third-party service network. Last year, I think in California alone, we added about 55 service shop. This year, we're adding a few more, but what is more important is to improve the quality of the service network and gradually really improve and -- improve the quality of those service network rather than focusing on the quantity.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. Operator, can we check for live questions?

[Operator Instructions] We will take our next question. Your question comes from the line of Jim McIlree from Chardan.

Yes. You've talked about the gross margin improvements and the BOM cost improvements that you're looking for this year. When do you think that you can achieve a positive gross margin? Is that something that could happen at the end of this year? Or is that something that's more likely to occur in 2027?

Thank you for the question. Lan Anh, over to you.

Yes. So for profitability, especially mentioned about gross margin, you see that for the [ business ] we consistent with many scaling EV manufacturers, like we focus on the execution milestones that drive margin improvement. So for VinFast, we have the 2 primary levers like the first one for the higher deliveries spread fixed cost, of course, manufacturing, R&D and SG&A, improving operating leverage. And also for the BOM cost, yes, we have the next-generation platforms design with the optimized architecture. The next-generation vehicle is also expected to deliver around 30% to 40% lower of the bill of materials, I mean, the BOM cost versus earlier modules. And because as these modules scale in production because we have the production expansion, the unit economics is expected to improve meaningfully. And in addition that for platform transition and volume ramp and continue for the cost discipline expected to make the path to profitability increasingly like visible over the medium term. But a lot of things to boost for the margin improvement for both Vietnam and also for the overseas. And we expect that like the path to profitability increasingly visible over like in the medium term.

Thanks, Lan Anh. Operator, are there any more live questions? Or Jim, do you have a follow-up question?

Yes. I was curious if you could share with us what your expected cash usage will be this year?

Yes. For the CapEx for this year, we expect that around USD 1.6 billion in CapEx for R&D with the next-generation model. So we expect that we spend around USD 1.4 billion for R&D.

There seems to be no further questions -- excuse me, please stand. We do have a question in the queue. Your question comes from the line of Jesse Sobelson from BTIG. There is no response, and we have no further questions in the queue.

Thanks, operator. Actually, Jesse had sent in his question on the WebEx. So I'm going to read it out. This is regarding our guidance of 300,000 global EV deliveries in 2026. From a manufacturing standpoint, are you -- are you already capable of producing at that annualized run rate today? And what are the key amounts, either utilization, supply chain, labor or localization that needs to happen to support that volume? There's also been discussions of competitors expanding their manufacturing footprint into Southeast Asia and namely Vietnam. So how do you think about -- how do you want investors to think about VinFast's core differentiation, whether it's product, pricing, ecosystem or aftersales? And where do you believe you have the most defensible advantage over the next 12 to 18 months? Thank you for that question, Jesse. That's very comprehensive. Madam Thuy, over to you.

Yes. So absolutely, we're capable of manufacturing and delivering that volume of at least 300,000 vehicles in 2026. Regarding the 300,000 or at least 300,000 delivery target for 2026, the growth will mainly be driven by Vietnam and our core Asian markets. From a manufacturing perspective, we already have sufficient capacity. I think with -- as I mentioned in my speech, with facilities in Hai Phong, Ha Tinh and India, our combined capacity exceeds 600,000 vehicles per year already. So that will support our growth target. As an example, our flagship factory in Hai Phong has ramped up to above 70% capacity at the end of 2025 and still have headroom to produce more. From the supply chain perspective, we have developed a global supplier network of 1,700 partners and about 800 direct suppliers that are ready to supply to us. Well, I think on your second question, beyond pricing, we differentiate through our EV ecosystem, including the rollout of the V-GREEN charging infrastructure and the expansion of GSM ride-hailing fleet, which have built the long-term consumer confidence. Over time, our scale increases and our ecosystem matures, we expect promotions to normalize with differentiation increasingly driven by great value to money, the vehicle products and enhanced ownership experience and aftersales service and of course, the best-in-class warranty coverage. So I think those are the differentiating points between us and other competitors that might want to enter Southeast Asia and Vietnam in particular.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. Our next question is regarding robotics manufacturing. Can you give us a sense of the time line for when VinFast would begin manufacturing robots for the robotics companies within the Vingroup ecosystem? And would that require additional CapEx or changes to your existing production lines? Anne, would you like to take this, please?

Sure. Thanks, Amandae. So basically, I think humanoid robot trials are already planned for the second half of 2026 across 2 of our factory plants in Vietnam for certain operational tests. And we'll continue to conduct ongoing evaluation of robotics integration within our smart manufacturing road map and making sure that the humanoid or the robot arm visual AI programs work seamlessly with what we currently have, which is already fairly highly automated. And at the same time, we also do not want our testing to disrupt the core EV production because the plant in Hai Phong is basically operating at full capacity and the one in Ha Tinh is also ramping up very fast. So I'm very excited, and we hope to share further updates in the coming quarters. Thank you.

Thank you, Anne. Our next question is from Harry of Edison Research. Could you possibly give a little bit more color on the geographic breakdown of the e-scooter growth you are expecting this year? Will the majority of the growth be driven by an increased number of scooters sold in Vietnam? Or do you expect it to be driven by international markets? And a follow-up question is, should -- with this growth, should we expect e-scooters to have a meaningful margin impact moving forward? Madam, Thuy.

Well, so last year experienced a very strong growth in e-scooter for us, and that was all in Vietnam. This year, we expect to expand to 5 international markets in Asia as well. As you know, you go to Asia, you see mostly -- you see a lot of 2-wheel vehicles in Asia. So this is a very strong market just beyond Vietnam. But we expect most of the growth for 2026 will still come from Vietnam for various reasons, driven by like the policy tailwinds in Vietnam, including the expected restrictions on gasoline motorbike in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the 2 big cities in Vietnam by -- in the middle of 2026. So -- and then we focus on the largest segment of 2-wheels, the student and daily commuters. So the adoption is accelerating as well. I mentioned the international expansion before. So there will be -- we will expand into India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Another interesting fact about our e-scooter is the battery swapping rollout by V-GREEN that reduces the charging barriers, especially for people that use e-scooter or use 2-wheel vehicles for food deliveries or for delivery purposes. So as of January 2026, there are already 4,500 battery swapping stations installed across Vietnam, supported by retail and logistics partnership. Well, as the 2-wheeler segment scale, we expect it to become an increasingly meaningful contributor to both revenues and profitability for VinFast, and it will be a great support for our 4-wheels business. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. We are just at about time. So we're going to end with the last question from the WebEx regarding our guidance. Can you provide a breakdown or give us a sense of which markets or models do you expect to contribute the most to your target of at least 300,000 EVs this year?

Well, I think for -- even for 2026, the primary growth expected still from Vietnam and the core Asian markets. There will be new model launches in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. And the expansion of GSM operations in international market will also drive the growth as well. We are building the dealership network across Vietnam and Asia. So just those are the factors that would help drive the EV guidance to at least 300,000 vehicles this year.

Thank you, Madam Thuy. Operator, that concludes the earnings call.

Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.