Within 15 months of breaking the ground for a new manufacturing plant at the southern port town of Thoothukudi, Vietnam’s VinFast on Monday inaugurated its facility to produce electric vehicles not only for India but for the global markets.
MK Stalin inaugurated the plant in the presence of the company’s CEO of VinFast Asia, Pham Sanh Chau, with the roll out of the premium VF7 car.
VinFast setting up its base in the State adds another feather in the cap for the thriving auto sector in Tamil Nadu, called the Detroit of Asia. For Thoothukudi, this is a major boost for industrial development as the town is yet to recover from the closure of the Sterlite Copper smelter plant in 2018 due to alleged environmental issues.
Tamil Nadu is home to car manufacturing by vendors like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan (now Renault), Stellantis and BMW. The Ford plant is defunct now and Tata’s JLR will start production in a few months.
The State produces one out of every five cars made in India and contributes to nearly 40 per cent of India’s automobile exports, according to the State Planning Commission.
In April 2024, Vietnam-based electric vehicle maker VinFast Auto Ltd commenced construction work for establishing a new integrated EV manufacturing unit at Thoothukudi with planned investment of ₹4,000 crore, spread over 5 years. In March 2024, the Vietnamese company signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to invest ₹16,000 crore over some time.
The new factory has been set up in a 400-acre site at the industrial park of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) and it is expected to generate jobs for 3,000 to 3,500 people.
The plant is the company’s third operational plant – the first outside Vietnam – and the fifth project in its global manufacturing network.
Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the facility will boost bilateral relations between Vietnam and Tamil Nadu. “Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu saw the first car manufacturing (Hyundai in 1998) while the EV car manufacturing plant is being inaugurated at Thoothukudi. This is a big to the industrial development for the region,” he said.
The plant will be the country’s full EV car manufacturing unit, which will provide employment to a large number of local people, he said. The company has so far invested ₹1,300 crore in the plant, he added.
Vinfast Asia CEO Chau said that the company did a survey of 15 sites in 6 states across India looking at infrastructure, government incentive and growth potential. Tamil Nadu stood out, and the company decided to set up the facility, he said. The first global customers were from countries like Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Nepal, he said.
Later speaking to newspersons, Chau said the delivery of the vehicles will start from August and the price will be fixed in the next few days. “We will announce on an auspicious day,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa at the function said that 20 months ago, the possibility of a car manufacturing (in Thoothukudi) was not thought of. But, 18 months ago, the MoU was signed with VinFast and today, the dream has become a reality with a ₹16,000 crore investment through the new factory.
In the initial phase, VinFast Tamil Nadu will focus on assembling two premium electric SUV models – the VF7 and VF6. The plant’s annual capacity is 50,000, scalable up to 150,000 to meet rising market demand. With the launch of the plant, VinFast moves closer to its target sales target of 200,000 vehicles and its long-term production goal of 1 million vehicles per year by 2030, the company said in a statement.
On August 1st, VinFast opened its showroom (its biggest) in Chennai – the second after Surat on July 27. The company is scheduled to inaugurate its plant in the port town of Thoothukudi on Monday. VinFast Auto India, the Indian subsidiary VinFast, as part of its roadmap, aims to launch 35 dealerships by year-end, across 27+ cities.
VinFast officially opened pre-bookings for its premium electric SUVs, the VF6 and VF7 on July 15. Customers can now book their preferred VinFast premium electric SUV either at the exclusive showrooms or through the official website, VinFastAuto.in, with a fully refundable booking amount of ₹21,000.
It has also partnered with multiple dealer groups in key cities and teamed up with RoadGrid, myTVS and Global Assure to build a digital services and after-sales support network. VinFast has also joined forces with BatX Energies to enable battery recovery and reuse, advancing circular production and sustainable development in the world’s third largest automobile market, the release said.
According to an official of a major freight forwarder, the new factory will be a major boost to the shipping community. “We need more such facilities to help the shipping community to grow,” he added.
The inauguration of VinFast is likely to be followed by large industrial projects worth over ₹45,000 crore like ACME Green Hydrogen & Chemical (₹27,000 crore); Green Infra Renewable Energy Farms Pvt Ltd (₹8,460 crore); Amplus Ganges Solar (₹6,000 crore) and Renew E-fuels Pvt Ltd (₹400 crore).
