Leading Vietnamese electric car manufacturer, Vinfasthas been eyeing Indian car market for some time. The company is building its dedicated facility at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, India. This facility will start operations by June 2025, as revealed by CEO Pham Nhat Vuong. Let’s take a closer look.
Vinfast Accelerates India Operations
As part of its latest strategies, Vinfast is shifting focus away from North American market and its associated uncertainties. Till the dust settles down in North America by the ongoing trade war, Vinfast is spearheading into major Asian markets like Indonesia and Philippines. In that regard, Vinfast is set to open its plant in India by June 2025 and in Indonesia by October 2025.
Owing to high logistics fees, Vinfast is deterring its advances in markets like USA, Canada and the European Union. The company is currently investing around USD 4 billion (Rs 34,233 Cr) in their manufacturing facility in North Carolina, USA. However, the advancements in US market have been delayed by up to three years to 2028.
The company is waiting for the right time and right signals to continue onwards with North Carolina plant. In the meantime, operations in India, Indonesia and Philippines have been sharpened and the company hopes to open its Thoothukudi plant by July 2025. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in February 2024.
This is a USD 2 billion (Rs 17,112 Cr) project and the company has pledged USD 500 million (Rs 4,277 Cr) for the first five years of this project. This facility is touted to have an annual production capacity of 1,50,000 cars. The plant in Indonesia is said to go operational in October 2025 and it will have an annual production capacity of 2,00,000 units.
What to expect?
For Indian market, Vinfast will commence its operations by launching premium vehicles like VF 6 and VF 7. There will be more electric vehicles from Vinfast in India down the line. Vinfast VF e34 has been spied multiple times and smaller vehicles like VF 3 have been trademarked in India as well.
Recently, two Vinfast VF 7 electric vehicles were spied on in Pune city without any camouflage. These were spotted on the back of flatbed pickup trucks, which could indicate that they’re heading towards ARAI facility for homologation procedures. Launch of VF 6 and VF 7 is likely to happen soon.
