VinFast signs a deal to supply over 100,000 electric vehicles in Congo, while Ford admits a 10‑year battery gap and partners with China’s CATL. Read more now.
Vietnam’s automotive giant VinFast has inked a three‑party memorandum of understanding with the city of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and local firm Exposure SARL. The agreement sets the stage for a large‑scale rollout of electric mobility solutions in Africa’s bustling capital.
What the partnership entails
Under the deal, VinFast will propose commercial and technical plans for a fleet of pure‑electric vehicles—including buses, passenger cars and motorcycles—to serve public transit, government fleets and private commuters. Exposure SARL will handle the initial business planning, obtain import licences, and manage local distribution and operations. Kinshasa’s municipal authorities will facilitate policy support, finalize regulatory frameworks, and provide access to infrastructure.
Rollout targets
In the first phase, slated to run through the first quarter of 2026, VinFast aims to deliver:
- ~500 electric buses
- 1,000 electric cars for public service
- 10,000–20,000 electric passenger cars for the market
- 50,000–100,000 electric motorcycles
Beyond vehicles, Vingroup—VinFast’s parent company—will transfer know‑how, train drivers and technicians, and assist with the design of charging infrastructure, boosting Kinshasa’s green transition.
Chinese electric bus exports surge
While VinFast looks to Africa, Chinese manufacturers are redefining the global bus market. According to Nikkei Asia Review, exports of Chinese electric buses jumped 124 % year‑on‑year in the first half of 2025, reaching 9,000 units worldwide. The growth reflects intense domestic competition and a slowing local demand, prompting firms to chase overseas contracts.
Rapid adoption across Southeast Asia
Indonesia’s Transjakarta already operates more than 420 Chinese‑built electric buses, pursuing a target of 10,000 units by 2030. A new assembly plant in Magelang, Central Java, is gearing up to meet domestic needs. In Malaysia, at least 146 electric buses run on major routes, while Singapore and the Philippines have secured contracts for Chinese buses to clean up urban transport. Although challenges remain—cybersecurity, technical standards—the region’s appetite for zero‑emission public transit is unmistakable.
Ford’s admission of a decade‑long battery lag
Across the Pacific, U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. publicly acknowledged that it trails Chinese rivals by roughly ten years in electric‑vehicle battery technology. Rather than building its own cells from scratch, Ford has scrapped two major Korean partnerships and signed a deal with China’s CATL to use lithium‑iron‑phosphate (LFP) batteries at its Michigan plant.
The move cuts years off Ford’s development timeline; creating comparable performance in‑house could have taken a decade. The shift also signals a broader industry trend: traditional manufacturers are leaning on Chinese supply‑chain expertise to stay competitive as global EV growth moderates.
What this means for the market
VinFast’s ambitious Congo plan illustrates how emerging‑market players are leveraging EV technology to leapfrog traditional combustion‑engine infrastructure. Simultaneously, the surge in Chinese electric bus exports and Southeast Asian deployments underscores Beijing’s rising influence in the global clean‑transport arena.
Ford’s partnership with CATL highlights a pragmatic, if uneasy, alliance between legacy Western automakers and Chinese battery specialists. As the automotive world pivots toward electrification, cross‑border collaborations are becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Stay tuned for updates on VinFast’s African rollout, the spread of Chinese electric buses, and how legacy brands like Ford navigate the electrified future.