(Reuters) -Vietnamese electric vehicle-maker VinFast increased vehicle deliveries, leading to a tripling in first quarter revenue versus a year ago, although its net loss rose by 3.5%, the company said on Wednesday.

Global economic uncertainty has clouded the outlook for car sales and price competition is intense, but VinFast said it was maintaining a 2024 goal of 100,000 EV deliveries.

"VinFast sees the ongoing economic and geopolitical instability globally as a short-term challenge," VinFast Chairwoman Thuy Le said in the results statement.

Shares in VinFast, backed by Vietnam's largest conglomerate Vingroup, were up 2.6% at $3.14 in pre-market trading.

Founded in 2017 and fully focused on EVs since 2022, VinFast started to sell in California last year, where it delivered nearly 9,700 cars in the first three months of this year.

The company said it had signed distribution contracts with 10 new dealers in the United States, bringing the number of its partners to 16, as it plans to add more models in North America this year.

Its newly signed agents are expected to begin sales from the second quarter.

The company's first quarter revenue more than tripled to $302.6 million year-on-year, although it was 31% lower than in the fourth quarter of last year.

Its net loss, at 3.5% higher than the same period of last year, was 12.3% less than the previous quarter.

The company's shares have fallen around 97% from a peak in August when it went public. The company is now valued at $7 billion.

($1 = 25,350.0000 dong)