VinFast starts EV production at its first overseas plant in India

The Vietnamese automaker has opened its new EV production facility on a 408-acre site in Thoothukudi, a port city in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It first announced that it was building the plant in January of last year.

According to a report from Samayam, the company is utilising an area of 114 acres for CKD operations and has invested 11.2 billion rupees (approx. 110 million euros) in the first phase. Officially, last year, it confirmed plans to invest 40 billion rupees (approx. 395 million euros) over five years and eventually quadruple that amount to 160 billion rupees (approx. 1.6 billion euros). The future investments should help it upgrade to a full-fledged manufacturing unit and build EVs with significantly higher localisation.

To begin with, VinFast is assembling the VF 6 and VF 7 at the Thoothukudi plant. The company has installed an annual production capacity of 50,000 units and plans to scale it up to 150,000 units in the future. It will use the new site for exports as well and has confirmed South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa as the target markets. The Indian factory has already received orders from nearby markets, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius.

VinFast began accepting pre-orders for the VF 6 and VF 7 in India in mid-July, for a fully refundable deposit of 21,000 rupees (207 euros). The company is offering the former in Earth and Wind trims and the latter in Earth, Wind, and Sky trims. The VF 6 has a 59.6 kWh battery pack and premium features like 18-inch alloy wheels, Level 2 ADAS functions, a coloured head-up display, a dual-zone automatic climate control system, a panoramic glass roof, a power driver’s seat, and vegan leather upholstery. In the VF 7, VinFast uses a 70.8 kWh battery pack and further distinguishes it with 19-inch wheels and ventilated front seats.

From the currently available locally manufactured electric cars in India, the VF 6 and VF 7 are comparable to Hyundai’s Creta Electric and Tata Motors’ Harrier.ev, respectively. However, with limited localisation, it remains to be seen if VinFast can price them close to these rivals. The VF 7 may see competition from the slightly smaller Atto 3 as well, which BYD assembles from imported knocked-down kits at a local facility up north in Sriperumbudur in the same state. Interestingly, the Chinese automaker just recently commenced local testing of its VF 6 rival in India – the Atto 2.

VinFast plans to set up a dealership network comprising 35 outlets and covering more than 27 cities across India by the end of the year. It opened its first showroom in Surat in the western state of Gujarat at the end of last month, followed by its largest showroom in the country in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, at the beginning of this month. With production underway, the company may announce prices and begin deliveries by early September.

Vinfast increases worldwide deliveries

This comes as Vinfast reported its Q2/2025 delivery figures. According to the carmaker, it delivered 35,837 electric vehicles globally in Q2 2025, up 172% year-on-year. The compact VF 3 and VF 5 models led sales, jointly accounting for 61% of total deliveries. The VF 6 followed, contributing 12%.

That means that in the first half of this year, VinFast delivered 72,167 electric vehicles worldwide, a 223% year-over-year increase.

The Vietnamese manufacturer also saw strong growth in its two-wheeler segment. It states that it delivered 69,580 electric two-wheelers, including electric scooters and e-bikes, in Q2 2025. This represents a 55% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 432% rise year-on-year. Total two-wheeler deliveries for the first half of 2025 reached 114,484 units, up 447% from H1 2024.

VinFast will release its financial results for Q2 2025 before markets open on 4 September 2025.

samayam.com (plant), vinfastauto.us (deliveries)