Vietnam’s indigenous electric vehicle maker VinFast is set to open its first Indian manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi, where it will make EV batteries, sources told Reuters. A source said that this unit will be separate from its previously announced plans to assemble vehicles shipped in parts from Vietnam. The company is expected to make announcement about the upcoming plant in the coming days. It said in a statement that it would reveal details of its plans at “an appropriate time”.
Another source mentioned that several VinFast officials have visited Thoothukudi district to check out sites. In September, the company had begun hiring for sales, legal and back office jobs in India. In November, the company appointed Pham Sanh Chau as its India CEO, who is a Vietnamese politician, educator and diplomat.
VinFast is looking to enter India with two models initially, which will go on sale via the CBU route. Alongside, the EV maker will also infuse investment to set up a manufacturing facility, thus enabling the brand to locally assemble and manufacture electric vehicles. In October last year, VinFast said that it would build assembly factories in India and Indonesia, with each of them having a capacity of up to 50,000 cars per year and capital expenditure of up to USD 200 million initially.
The production is expected to commence in 2026. However, it is not clear what the size of the investment is or when the factory would become operational. The company is reportedly also open to bringing both e-scooters and e-cars to the country. Separately, Green SM, EV taxi operator, mostly owned by VinFast’s founder, also plans to establish its base in India, which is the world’s third-largest automotive market, the company’s CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in October.