VinFast becomes third most valuable carmaker as stock surge continues

Shares of electric-vehicle maker VinFast Auto (NASDAQ:) surged as much as 30% in premarket trading on Monday morning, extending last week’s rally that saw the Vietnamese carmaker more than quadruple its market value to $160 billion.

A premarket share price of $90.55 indicated that the stock was headed towards increasing its market capitalization by nearly $50B. This projected single-day growth could push the company to surpass the market values of prominent U.S. car manufacturers Ford Motor (NYSE:) and General Motors (NYSE:).

The company began trading on the earlier this month with an exceptional debut that saw the automaker’s worth escalate rapidly into a position as the third most valuable car manufacturer, trailing only Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Toyota (NYSE:).

However, the automaker is almost entirely controlled by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, who controls 99.7% of the stock. The small number of publicly available shares has made the stock prone to volatility, with shares jumping or slumping more than 14% in 11 of the past 12 sessions.

VinFast anticipates selling up to 50,000 electric vehicles this year, in contrast to Tesla’s ambitious target of delivering 1.8 million cars.

In an effort to boost sales, VinFast is shifting its strategy from Tesla’s direct-to-consumer approach and embracing dealerships. Additionally, the company is investing in the construction of a $4B factory in North Carolina.

Shares of VFS are up 15% in pre-market trading Monday morning.