Tesla rival VinFast plans to open India plant by end of June

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast plans to open a car assembly plant in India by the end of June and another one in Indonesia in October, its chief said on Thursday, as the company shifts its focus to Asia.

The loss-making startup had initially planned to focus on America for its foreign sales, but slow progress in the United States, even before growing uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs, pushed the company to change strategy.

"In the near future, apart from the Vietnamese market, we will focus more on Indonesia, India, and the Philippines markets," Pham Nhat Vuong told shareholders of VinFast's parent company Vingroup.


"At the moment, VinFast is not planning to boost sales in the United States, Canada, and the European Union due to high logistics fee," he added. Last year, VinFast and the southern state of Tamil Nadu agreed to work towards an investment of up to $2 billion, with an intended commitment of $500 million for the first five years of the project, with the plant expected to have an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles.

In July last year VinFast also broke ground on an assembling factory in Indonesia, which Vuong on Thursday said would be operational in October, confirming plans announced earlier.