NC sues VinFast to take over stalled Chatham County megasite
In a lawsuit that signals the end of a once-celebrated collaboration, North Carolina has sued the Vietnamese electric vehicle company VinFast to acquire the company’s dormant site in southeast Chatham County.
State Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed the lawsuit Thursday in Wake County on behalf of the N.C. Department of Commerce.
“VinFast agreed to build a factory and create jobs for North Carolinians,” Jackson wrote in a press release. “It didn’t do either.”
In March 2022, North Carolina awarded the nascent EV maker an economic incentive to operate the state’s first major auto assembly plant, about 30 miles southwest of downtown Raleigh.
The details were eye-popping; VinFast committed to build a $4 billion, 7,500-worker battery and car facility on a 1,765-acre campus near the unincorporated community of Moncure. The state offered both performance-based incentives (to be realized only after hiring occurred) and millions of dollars to cover VinFast’s initial site preparation.
As of July 2024, the state had paid $51.7 million toward VinFast’s site, $28.4 million toward the surrounding roadwork, and over $15 million for the nearby city of Sanford to improve its water and sewer systems.
To protect this upfront funding, North Carolina designed a special purchasing agreement that allows the state to buy all or part of the land if VinFast didn’t meet specific development deadlines.
One requirement was that the company start local manufacturing by July 1, which VinFast won’t accomplish. Another is that the company would have started to vertical construction by January 2024. The carmaker has yet to construct any significant vertical structures on the Chatham County campus, which VinFast now says will open in 2028 — four years later than original projections.
“This is a clear violation of VinFast’s agreements with the state,” the 191-page lawsuit reads. “VinFast’s default gives the state the contractural right to purchase the site.”
VinFast has failed to gain a foothold in the North American market. Following poor reviews for its inaugural electric SUV, the company shifted resources toward its Asian production sites. VinFast reported delivering 3,800 vehicles to the U.S. in 2024 and declined to share updated figures with The N&O earlier this year.
“Today’s action is about projecting taxpayers and getting the Chatham County mega-site back on the market to support future good-paying manufacturing jobs,” Gov. Josh Stein wrote in the statement Thursday.
According to the lawsuit, VinFast in February rejected the state’s assertion that the company had defaulted on its development agreement. VinFast did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News & Observer. The company is run by Vietnam’s wealthiest person, Pham Nhat Vuong.
“VinFast argued that it had met its construction deadlines and would have a facility opened on a delayed 2028 timeline,” the N.C. Department of Justice stated Thursday. “The state’s action seeks to protect taxpayer investments and enforce the commitments tied to the project.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 4:58 PM.
