Vietnam's VinFast Auto Ltd sees its new Indian factory as key to entering South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the electric vehicle (EV) maker's chief executive officer for Asia Pham Sanh Chau said, as it begins a US$500 million (RM2.12 billion) push to crack the world’s third-biggest car market.
The new plant will have an initial production capacity of 50,000 vehicles, which can be ramped up to 150,000 a year, Chau said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s David Ingles ahead of VinFast’s Tamil Nadu factory inauguration on Monday. The factory will focus on premium electric sport utility vehicle models, the VF 7 and VF 6, the company said in a statement.
VinFast has received orders “from several countries” across South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the company said.
“We want to position ourselves as a premium global carmaker, which is also accessible in other markets,” Chau said in the interview.
The EV maker has signed early financing agreements with major banks for its Indian operations, Chau said, adding that these will be announced soon. It has also been “in discussions” with private equity firms for financial support.
The company was seeking a loan of as much as US$200 million from local state-owned banks, Bloomberg reported in May.
VinFast is also looking for potential joint ventures with Indian companies, Chau said.
VinFast’s billionaire founder and CEO Pham Nhat Vuong in April said the company had no plans to boost sales in North America and Europe due to high logistics fees and will instead focus on India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The company expects to open a plant in Indonesia by October.
In 2024, VinFast delivered 97,399 EVs globally and expects to at least double that this year, with 200,000 deliveries in Vietnam.
VinFast opened its first showroom in Surat, India, in late July and it plans to put up 35 dealerships across the country in at least 27 cities by year end.
The Indian factory is the company’s third vehicle plant. It has two in Vietnam.
Source: theedgemalaysia