Interview/ Tapan Ghosh, CEO, VinFast India
Q/ VinFast is the first automobile company from a developing country to set up shop in India. How did it come about?
Vingroup is the largest business conglomerate in Vietnam. VinFast is the mobility arm of Vingroup. Initially it was selling ICE and electric vehicles, but in 2022, our chairman decided to go green with only electric two-wheelers, four wheelers and buses. In 2023, we decided to come to India. In 17 months, the plant was up in Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu). We started manufacturing last year.
We are trying to develop the overall ecosystem. We have a manufacturing plant, and we are also looking for vendors for localisation. Already we have got more than 55 showrooms and more than 120 workshops. We have the V Green charging ecosystem also coming soon.
Q/ In India, the EV market is still small.
We wanted to be somewhat of a first mover, and a long-term player. That is the reason we set up the manufacturing plant. We are very confident.
Globally, VinFast is clear that EV is the way forward. Pollution is high, particularly in India. We have to have green mobility.
The total Indian auto industry volume is very big—47 lakh vehicles a year. And the way the EV industry is growing, we are confident that there will be a sizeable EV volume by 2030-31. VinFast can take a share of the pie. In future, we will be thinking about export also.
Q/ What is the company’s strategy in India?
We plan to have two new models every year.
Q/ What is the sweet spot for Indian customers?
There is one particular price range which is actually a very big volume segment; starting from Rs18 lakh to Rs28 lakh. But there is also a big segment between Rs10 lakh and Rs18 lakh.
Q/ Tata scored big in that segment. Are you going to aim for that?
Yes, we are aiming for that also. Because that is one segment where we don't want to be absent. We are studying that.
Q/ Did you think about bringing two-wheelers?
We will be bringing two-wheelers in a few months time.
Q/ Buses?
We are studying. We have not decided yet about buses.
Q/ Vingroup is in so many sectors: real estate, health care, hospitality. Is it looking at any other segment in India?
In India, we have VinFast, which is the four-wheeler EV, then V Green, which is our charging division. Then we’ve got Green SmartMobility (Green SM), which is a fleet. Two-wheelers will also come in a few months.
Vingroup is also talking to different state governments to have an entry into real estate. That work is in progress.
