HO CHI MINH, Jan. 8 (Nikkei) – VinFast will spend up to $2 billion to produce electric vehicles and batteries in India, the Vietnamese carmaker said shortly after appointing its founder as CEO.
The Nasdaq-listed company's factory in Tamil Nadu will contribute to local goals that 30% of new cars be EVs, VinFast said late Saturday. A spokesman told Nikkei Asia on Monday that the site will include "several manufacturing facilities."
VinFast said the manufacturing operation, starting with an investment of $500 million over five years, will be its third, following existing facilities in northern Vietnam and one in progress in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
"That would be an integrated EV facility including different parts of the project," the spokesman said of the India plant.
The spokesman declined to provide a timeline for the full potential $2 billion spending plan, but said plans will be disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and "be announced at the appropriate time."
The loss-making manufacturer, launched by Vietnam's richest billionaire, in October had plans to build assembly plants in India and Indonesia at about $200 million each.
But the weekend announcement on India signals an enlarged facility that will conduct full manufacturing, with annual capacity of 150,000 EVs and a commitment from Tamil Nadu to "providing cleared land" and "uninterrupted power supply and other infrastructure support," VinFast said.
The Indonesian factory also will "be an integrated one, including a battery plant," the spokesman said.
The company also said on Saturday that Pham Nhat Vuong, 55, would transition from chairman to CEO to helm "global production, sales, and marketing" as his business moves into an "important phase" of international expansion. The reserved founder takes over from Le Thi Thu Thuy, who has been the public face of the EV newcomer, giving countless media interviews around the world.
Vuong, who also founded VinFast parent Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, is leading the company as it prepares to enter dozens of countries and ramp up sales in the U.S.
VinFast last year became the first Vietnamese automaker to put vehicles on U.S. roads but has seen poor industry reviews, a recall, and tepid sales. The U.S. EV market also has slowed despite government incentives for transitioning to clean transport.
VinFast said it's targeting India as the world's most populous nation and will start construction in 2024. It plans to employ 3,000 to 3,500 people in Tamil Nadu with an emphasis on gender equality and career advancement. It left the door open to cooperating with the state on charging stations.
Photo from Nikkei
