Vinfast, Vietnam’s largest automaker, has already burned billions trying to break into the US and European markets. Now it’s decided India will be its shot at redemption. And unlike every other global automaker that swoops into cities like Mumbai with glass-walled showrooms and glossy marketing, Vinfast is starting with… car workshops. In Coimbatore, Shimla, and other tier-2 towns one is unlikely to find on a Tesla roadmap.

The urgency is obvious. Vinfast posted $3.2 billion in losses in 2024. That’s not the sort of number that allows for a careful, wait-and-watch expansion. “Its Indian pivot is crucial,” said Deb Mukherji, former MD of Omega Seiki, an electric three-wheeler company. So the company has begun to cut friction wherever it can. 

For one, in August, it struck a deal Business StandardVinFast Auto partners with SBI to provide car loans for EV buyers with the State Bank of India to line up car loans for buyers before its EVs have even arrived.

It is, as strategies go, kind of bold. India’s EV market is still small—just fourNDTVElectric Passenger Vehicle Retail Sales Contribute 4.1 Per Cent Market Share In May'25 out of every 100 cars sold—but it is scaling quickly: from 4,210 EVs sold in 2020 to 158,000 in 2024, per a Niti Aayog reportNITI AayogUnlocking a $200 Billion Opportunity. Policymakers want electrification to hitClimate ScorecardIndian Government Sets Target to Achieve 30% Electrification of the Country’s Vehicle Fleet by 2030 30% by 2030, and local incumbents like Tata Motors and Mahindra already own more than halfFinancial ExpressElectric car sales March 2025: MG Motor closing on the heels of Tata Motors the market. Even the foreign entrant, MG Motor, has climbed to No. 2 in just six years.

So, Vinfast’s plan is to zag where everyone else zigs. Its first two models, the VF6 and VF7 SUVs (reportedly priced at Rs 16 lakh and Rs 25 lakh)—rolling fresh off its newTimes of IndiaVinFast inaugurates first plant outside Vietnam at Tuticorin Tamil Nadu assembly line—won’t rely solely on a polished dealer network at all.