Chennai: Vietnamese Electric Vehicle (EV) major VinFast on Monday officially inaugurated its assembly plant at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, kicking off the move that will see a phased investment of up to Rs 16,000 crore. 

In its initial phase, the plant has a capacity to assemble 50,000 SUVs of its two premium electric SUV models — the VF 6 and VF 7. The plant is scalable up to 150,000 units annually to meet the rising demand as the company aims to develop Thoothukudi as an export hub.

VinFast sees the plant, backed by Tamil Nadu’s robust infrastructure, skilled labour, and port access, playing a key role as a car export hub for South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

“This project will seed an entirely new industrial cluster in southern Tamil Nadu,” said state Industries Minister T.R.B. Raaja, noting its role in India’s manufacturing ambitions.

VinFast recently also began work on a $200 million assembly plant in Indonesia and is expanding into Thailand and the Philippines as well.

VinFast sold nearly 97,000 vehicles in 2024, which was three times its previous year’s total, catering mainly to the domestic market in Vietnam.

VinFast opened its first showroom in India at Gujarat’s Surat on July 27 as the company looks to tap the growing market for electric cars in the country. The showroom will showcase the company’s electric SUV variants VF 6 and VF 7 which will be launched as right-hand drive variants for the first time. The company plans to open 35 dealerships across 27 cities in the country by the year-end.

The company is entering India’s fast-growing EV market, which remains largely dominated by home-grown Tata Motors and Mahindra in the affordable segment and Hyundai and MG Motor in the premium category.

While India sold over six million EVs in 2024, four-wheel passenger vehicles made up only 2.5 per cent of that total.

The Vietnamese EV maker has formed partnerships with RoadGrid, myTVS, and Global Assure to provide charging and after-sales services across India. The company has also joined hands with BatX Energies to promote battery recycling and establish a circular battery value chain, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable innovation.

Earlier this month Elon Musk-run Tesla launched its Model Y in India with price starting at Rs 59.89 lakh with its first showroom in Mumbai. Tesla, will be importing the Model Y as a completely built unit (CBU), from its manufacturing facility at Shanghai in China. (IANS)