NEW DELHI (Bloomberg): VinFast Auto Ltd., Vietnam’s largest carmaker, has rolled out its first electric vehicles in India as it takes on Tesla Inc., Tata Motors Ltd. and others in the world’s third-largest auto market.
The VF6, a compact SUV, its cheapest model, will be priced from 1.6 million rupees (US$18,127), the company said Saturday.
The Hai Phong-based company will also debut the VF7 mid-sized SUV starting from about 2 million rupees (US$22,659).
That’s about a third of the price of Tesla’s Model Y in India, while still higher than local EV leader Tata Motor’s least expensive model. Prices of the ATTO 3 SUV from China’s BYD start at about 2.5 million rupees in India.
VinFast said the pricing it announced Saturday is introductory and limited to the first 1,500 cars it sells, or until Nov. 30, whichever comes first.
The company’s pricing and its ability to eke out market share is a test case of sorts, since it’s the first foreign pure-play EV-maker to invest in a factory in India and is debuting its cars just weeks after Tesla. Its new $500 million plant in southern India will allow the company to escape the steep 70% import tariffs on Tesla and BYD vehicles.
Those high import levies have forced Elon Musk-led Tesla to price its entry-level model in India north of 6 million rupees, well above the 2.2 million rupee mark where India’s EV demand is centered, according to data from auto intelligence firm JATO Dynamics. Initial bookings for Tesla, which opened its first Indian showroom in July, have been underwhelming so far.
VinFast’s plant at Thoothukudi, in the state of Tamil Nadu, started operations in July at an initial capacity of 50,000 vehicles a year. The company has plans to scale up production to an annual 150,000 within a year and double it in the next three years.
The automaker delivered 97,399 EVs globally in 2024 and aims to double that this year. In India, it opened its first showroom in July and plans to expand to 35 dealerships across 27 cities by December.
The plant in southern India is VinFast’s third factory and its first outside Vietnam. India is central to VinFast’s push into South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and the company has already received orders from several countries in those regions, VinFast Asia Chief Executive Officer Pham Sanh Chau said in July.
In an interview to Bloomberg News on Saturday, Chau said that Vinfast has chosen to introduce models in the mid to slightly premium segments in India. That strategy puts it in direct competition with homegrown players like Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Tata Motors Ltd. as well as Hyundai Motor India Ltd. and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
Founder Pham Nhat Vuong said in April that the automaker will prioritize Asia - including India, Indonesia and the Philippines - over North America and Europe, where high logistics costs weigh on margins.
Vinfast will offer three years of free charging to customers in India, through its Vingroup-owned charging arm V-Green, Chau said. V-Green, which is set to launch in India with a plan to build 15,000 chargers in a year across the country, has finalized arrangements with banks to finance its franchises, Chau added.
--With assistance from Saikat Das. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
