Vietnam's VinFast To Invest $2 Billion To Build Integrated EV Facility In Tamil Nadu: Report

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast will invest $2 billion to build an integrated EV facility in Tamil Nadu.

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024, VinFast announced $2 Billion investment into Tamil Nadu.

VinFast and the State Government reportedly signed an agreement to work toward a total investment of up to $2 billion, with an intended commitment of $500 million for the first phase of the project, spanning five years from the commencement date.

The agreement will pave the way for VinFast to set up an integrated electric-vehicle facility in Tamil Nadu.

Construction of the facility is targeted to start this year, the company said. The project will have an annual capacity of as much as 150,000 units, it said, Bloomberg reported.

The company, which is constructing a $2 billion manufacturing complex in North Carolina and planning a factory in Indonesia, seeks to aggressively move into Southeast Asian markets and wants to eventually raise “a lot of capital” to fuel global expansion.

A number of VinFast officials have made trips to the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu to inspect potential sites.

In September, Reuters reported that VinFast had initiated recruitment for roles in sales, legal, and administrative positions in India, looking for candidates who "dare to think, dare to do, and dare to face difficulties".

The specifics regarding the scale of the investment and the commencement date for the VinFast factory in Tamil Nadu are not immediately clear.

In October, VinFast announced plans to establish assembly factories in India and Indonesia.

Each factory is projected to have an annual production capacity of up to 50,000 cars and an initial capital expenditure of up to $200 million. The company stated that production is set to begin in 2026.

In another development, Green SM, an EV taxi company mostly owned by the founder of VinFast, also intends to set up operations in India, which is the world's third-largest automotive market, VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy had said in an interview with Reuters in October.

VinFast is also considering the introduction of both e-scooters and e-cars to the Indian market.

Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai, dubbed the Detroit of Asia, and other districts already are host to several EV players including Indian two-wheeler makers Ola Electric and Ather as well as China's BYD.