Here's when you can buy VinFast EVs in India
What's the story
Vietnamese automaker VinFast has officially announced its entry into the Indian market at the Auto Expo 2025, showcasing an impressive global vehicle range.
The company's first offering will be the VF7 electric SUV, which will launch in time for the festive season. This will be followed by more affordable models next year.
The VF7 will be VinFast's flagship model for the Indian market. In other regions, the more premium VF8 and VF9 have found good success.
Production plan
VinFast's production strategy and market approach
Despite recent floods, construction of VinFast's Tamil Nadu manufacturing plant is on track.
VinFast plans to start with CKD operations at its Tamil Nadu plant with an initial capacity of 50,000 units. The company's long-term vision is to ramp this up to 150,000 units per year.
Under its top-down approach, VinFast will first launch premium models before entering the mass-market segment with affordable EVs.
Localization initiatives
VinFast's localization efforts and potential partnerships
VinFast is already working with local suppliers to gradually increase the local content in its vehicles.
The company is also looking for potential partners for cell and battery pack localization.
Pham Sanh Chau, MD and CEO of the company's Asia operations, said if they succeed in producing the battery locally in India, they will automatically get about 30% to 40% of localization.
This will help in reducing prices of the cars to take on rivals like Tata Motors and Mahindra.