VinFast enters India’s EV market, aiming to take on Tesla, Tata Motors and others with plans for big investments and job creation.India’s EV scene just got a new contender. VinFast, Vietnam’s biggest carmaker, is here with premium electric vehicles, and it’s gunning for Tesla, Tata Motors, and everyone else in the race.
“In the next 5–10 years, we aim to become a major player in India’s EV segment, as our mission is to help the country lead the electric revolution. We are ready to inject more money. We are ready to create jobs,” VinFast Asia Chief Executive Officer Pham Sanh Chau told ET Online.
From the lanes of the Southeast nation, VinFast brought its tailor-made VF6, a compact SUV, its cheapest model, priced from ₹16.4 lakh, and the VF7 mid-sized SUV starting from about ₹20 lakh. That’s about a third of the price of Tesla’s Model Y in India, while still higher than EV leader Tata Motors’ least expensive model, priced at ₹7.99 lakh. Prices of the ATTO 3 SUV from China’s BYD start at about ₹25 lakh in India.
Though India, which is the world’s third-largest auto market , has made big strides in the EV sector, its electric cars are still at a nascent stage. Electric passenger vehicle retail sales jumped 93 per cent year-on-year in July, led by Tata Motors, as per the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). India aims to achieve a 30 per cent share of electric vehicles in total vehicle sales by 2030. As per Niti Aayog, with 18.78 million EV sales in 2024 or just 7.6 per cent of total vehicle sales, the country needs to accelerate significantly to meet its 2030 target, which will require an increase of over 22 per cent in the next five years. The overall EV sales bump will, of course, help electric cars too, especially when so many attractive models, in terms of looks, efficiency and price, have started flooding the market.
Fight against domestic and global players
VinFast said the prices announced on Saturday are introductory, available only for the first 1,500 cars sold or until November 30, whichever comes first. The company’s pricing strategy and its ability to carve out market share will serve as a key test, as it becomes the first foreign pure-play EV maker to invest in a factory in India, launching its cars just weeks after Tesla’s entry.
By contrast, Elon Musk-led Tesla priced its entry-level model in India at over ₹60 lakh, far above the ₹22 lakh price bracket where most of the country’s EV demand lies, reported Bloomberg quoting auto intelligence firm JATO Dynamics. Initial bookings for Tesla, which opened its first Indian showroom in July, have been underwhelming so far. It was only able to sell 600 cars since its India debut.
When it comes to BYD, VinFast has managed to outpace the Chinese EV giant on its own home turf. BYD’s entry into Vietnam has been fraught with challenges, as its still-costly models remain out of reach for much of Southeast Asia’s upwardly mobile population. In India, too, the company initially struggled due to its Chinese origin. Although relations between New Delhi and Beijing have eased in 2025 following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping and relaxation of restrictions since the Galwan clashes, BYD has faced its own share of roadblocks in India. Previously, Indian officials have been clear they won’t welcome investment from the carmaker and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this year that it’s a “no” to BYD due to caution around the nation’s strategic interests. India has already rejected BYD’s $1 billion plan to build a plant in partnership with a local company.
What differentiates VinFast in India would also be the manufacturing plans of the company. While Tesla entered the market to import its cars and sell them in India, VinFast has invested $500 million into its manufacturing plant with annual production capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles in Tamil Nadu. The investment will increase to $2 billion in later years. “We are also looking to expand the production capacity of Tamil Nadu to 1.5 lakh units in the second phase,” Chau said, adding that environmental clearance for the expansion is taking time. The VinGroup’s EV arm is also planning to expand beyond Tamil Nadu. “We have on our radar a number of states that we are in negotiation with, not only for VinFast but also for Smart City,” said Chau. The Asia head, however, noted that the states under negotiation cannot be disclosed yet, as talks are still underway.
How VinFast stands among domestic majors
While electric four-wheelers still comprise a small share of total EV sales dominated by two- and three-wheelers, the segment is now entering a high-growth trajectory supported by both public policy and private sector commitment, a CareEdge analysis said. In the 4W EV space, Tata Motors is currently the top electric vehicle seller with 61,496 units sold in 2024, compared to 60,100 in 2023. However, their market share decreased from 73 per cent to 62 per cent. Most Indian EVs start at a minimum range of 400 km. Some automakers, such as Mahindra, are offering more than 600 km and fast charging from 20 per cent–80 per cent in under 20 minutes. In comparison, VinFast has offered 480 km and can accelerate from 0-100 kph in 8.89 seconds with its VF6 model. The VF7 is claimed to cover 450 km in its front-wheel-drive (FWD) version, where only the front wheels are powered, and 431 km in its all-wheel-drive (AWD) version, which powers all four wheels for better grip but slightly reduces efficiency.
On the pricing front, VinFast’s models placed at ₹16.5 lakh to ₹20 lakh range will be up against Tata’s Harrier EV ₹21.49–30.23 lakh range, while the Nexon EV is priced between ₹12.49 lakh and ₹17.19 lakh. Mahindra’s upcoming BE 6 is estimated to cost between ₹18.90 lakh and ₹27.79 lakh, whereas the XEV 9e is likely to be priced in the ₹21.90–31.25 lakh bracket.
‘Plans to be like Reliance, Tata’
“The plan is to be like Tata and Reliance. It’s not just the car. The car launch is just the beginning of a long journey of the Vingroup in India,” said Chau after the premium EVs were unveiled in New Delhi.
The VinGroup remains one of the largest conglomerates of Vietnam that focuses on technology, real estate development, auto manufacturing, retail and healthcare. With the car launch, the company is hoping to bring other arms of the VinGroup to India.
“Our chairman wants to bring the whole ecosystem of Vingroup into India,” Chau said. He added that the company is looking to build smart cities with a land parcel of over 2,000 acres and also get into green energy in the country. The group operates around 47 luxury resorts and now wants to get into the segment in the country as well, the Asia head of VinFast noted.
“We are working on e-buses, two-wheelers… we are working with different states to get the orders and we are in the process of converting them from left-hand drive to right-hand drive… every six months we will have a new model. We are not only selling cars; we bring the whole ecosystem,” he said. “We will introduce e-buses, e-two-wheelers, and e-taxis, as well as green power and solar technology. Over time, we will also bring VinMec hospitals, VinSchool education, and VinGroup resorts. If you buy our car today, one day you will enjoy the whole ecosystem.”
The company is in talks with state governments to develop smart cities that will host charging points, renewable energy solutions, and other VinGroup ventures.
Mirroring its growth in Vietnam, VinFast also has plans to venture into India’s public transport with e-buses and into ride-hailing services.
