Gandhinagar: VinFast Auto Ltd., the emerging electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer aspiring to be Vietnam’s counterpart to Elon Musk’s Tesla, is reportedly considering establishing a production facility in India. This strategic move aligns with the company’s broader expansion strategy and reflects the increasing interest in the Indian EV market.

The proposed Indian facility is likely to be located in either Tamil Nadu or Gujarat, a newspaper report said. According to a source familiar with the matter, discussions are still in their early stages, but VinFast is enthusiastic about its entry into the Indian market, and the investment is expected to be substantial, as reported by the Economic Times.

At present, it remains uncertain whether VinFast is contemplating exports or if the potential manufacturing unit would primarily serve the domestic Indian market. Conversations have occurred between VinFast Auto and various state governments, resulting in the shortlisting of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat as potential locations for the facility.

Should this plan come to fruition, VinFast would become the first Vietnamese automaker to establish operations in India. Founded in 2017, VinFast last month became the world’s third-largest automaker by market capitalization, trailing only behind Tesla and Toyota. The company’s market valuation surged to an impressive $191 billion shortly after its Nasdaq listing, marking a nearly 700% increase and underlining VinFast’s rapid growth and potential in the global automotive market.

With an estimated market capitalization of $25.7 billion, VinFast ranks as the 17th most valuable automaker globally, according to certain estimates.

During its second-quarter earnings announcement on September 24, VinFast unveiled its plans for the next phase of development commencing in 2024. One of the key strategies in this phase is the expansion of dealership networks into new market clusters, with a particular focus on entering the Indian market. DeshGujarat