HANOI, Vietnam: While the European Union (EU) is set to impose tariffs on its Chinese rivals, Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast plans to deliver its first EVs to Europe this year after receiving regulatory approval.

Reuters reported that VinFast will deliver some 3,000 of its VF8 crossovers, produced in its factory in northern Vietnam, to France, Germany, and the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of this year.

The company's plan to expand into Europe aims to take advantage of a market gap created by the EU's probe into Chinese EV makers.

If fulfilled, Europe could become VinFast's biggest overseas market in 2023.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, VinFast's chief executive, said, "We expect to deliver the first VF8 models to French, German and Dutch customers in the fourth quarter of this year."

The company's other models VF6, VF7, and VF9 would be launched in the European market next year, she added, noting that the VF8 SUV has already been approved by a European regulator as compliant with EU standards and can be sold in the bloc's 27 member states.

The company is also completing the procedures to obtain the voluntary Euro NCAP safety rating, she further added.

As well as expanding into Europe, VinFast's global plan also includes building new factories in the U.S. and Indonesia, and targeting markets in India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

The loss-making company reported a second-quarter revenue rise 131.2 percent to US$327 million, with its net loss totaling $526.7 million, 8.2 percent lower from the same period last year.

Part of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, VinFast was established in 2017 and began making EVs in 2021, when it stopped manufacturing cars with internal combustion engines.