VinFast Special Feature - Ready to Vin?

If you visit Vietnam, you’ll notice that the Vingroup is pretty much involved in the most important sectors of business. It has a vast real estate empire, runs schools, colleges, and universities, has a presence in the hospitality sector, and manufactures cars and two-wheelers. Of late, one of the core focuses of the Vingroup has been on clean mobility by manufacturing only EVs and also focusing on the safety aspect. At the same time, the company has been looking to widen its horizons and tap into other markets—other than Vietnam, that is—and given how fast the Indian automotive market is growing, it made natural sense for the company to look at tapping into the Indian market and get a share of the automotive market.

Because, if you look at the numbers the Indian automotive sector is doing currently, even a 3-4% market share can be substantial volumes and justify the investment that a company makes in the Indian market.

Focus on India

However, as most manufacturers know, if you want to be a successful automotive manufacturer in India and target the mass market, you have to ‘Make in India.’ And VinFast officials understood that from the very start. As a result, they have inaugurated a brand-new, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the state of Tamil Nadu to cater to the Indian market. This is VinFast’s third operational plant in the world and its first plant outside Vietnam. Spread over 400 acres, at full capacity, the plant will create 3,000 to 3,500 direct jobs, adding to the Indian economy and, at the same time, expanding the horizons for the company. The plant will initially assemble the company’s two premium electric SUVs, the VF 6 and VF 7. Production is initially starting with a capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year and is scalable up to 150,000 units.

While on our visit to Vietnam, and now in India, we have had opportunities to drive both the VF 6 and VF 7 and were quite impressed with what both vehicles have to offer. Both vehicles were well-built and offer a host of features—especially ones that Indian customers value the most in today’s competitive market. And with production at VinFast’s India plant starting already, we are excited to see how their cars will fare in the Indian market. Of course, the Indian market is an extremely competitive one, but seeing how nimbly and quickly the VinFast functions as a whole, we are excited to see what they offer to Indian customers and how they adapt to the Indian market.

Additionally, the feedback that the group will receive from Indian customers will only help the company to produce better cars and cater to a wider customer base. While India is not the easiest of markets for any automotive manufacturer to crack, the fact that the Vingroup is making such a concentrated effort in the Indian market means that the group not only sees potential in the Indian market but also that with new manufacturers coming in, customers get increased choice, which is a win-win scenario for both.