According to Pham Sanh Chau, CEO of VinFast India, the company has begun constructing a factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It plans to begin production by mid-next year, initially for domestic sales before expanding internationally.
According to an executive on Sunday, VinFast, a Vietnamese manufacturer of electric vehicles, has requested that India waive import charges on its vehicles for two years, allowing buyers to become acquainted with the brand while a local production factory is put into operation.
VinFast wants the import duty on electric vehicles from India
According to Pham Sanh Chau, CEO of VinFast India, the company has begun constructing a factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It plans to begin production by mid-next year, initially for domestic sales before expanding internationally.
Tamil Nadu and VinFast announced last month that they had reached an agreement to work toward a potential investment of USD 2 billion, with an intended commitment of USD 500 million for the project’s first five years.
Like Tesla, VinFast has asked for a reduction in India’s 100% import duty on fully completed electric vehicles, but local automakers have opposed their requests.
India, the third-biggest auto market in the world, has been assessing the requests, but no decision has been made, a government official stated last month. A request for comment was not immediately answered by a government official.
” Pham Sanh Chau stated, “We… proposed a reduction of import duty tax… for instance by bringing it to 70% to 80% just for two years and for a very limited number of cars so the customers can get used to our products,” at VinFast’s historic celebration in the Thoothukudi area.
Right now, the federal government is thinking about it. However, we proceed with building the production plant while we wait for the central government’s ultimate decision.”
Just 2% of cars sold in India last year were electric models, but the government wants to increase that percentage to 30% by 2030 and is developing a plan to entice EV manufacturers.
Compared to 250,000 automobiles at VinFast’s main plant in Vietnam, the Tamil Nadu facility would be able to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually.
The company is already closely collaborating with some 55 Indian dealers to establish a sales network, and it may eventually look to sell its two-wheeler models in the nation, according to Pham Sanh Chau, a former Vietnamese ambassador to India. “As a startup company, we move fast,” he stated.