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Stalin lays foundation stone for VinFast’s EV plant in south Tamil Nadu
Earlier, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the DMK government and the company during the Global Investors’ Meet
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the electric vehicle car and battery manufacturing facility of VinFast Auto Ltd in the state. This is Vietnam based VinFast’s first plant in India.
Earlier, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the DMK government in state and the company during the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) held in January with a partnership commitment of up to USD 2 billion. Of this USD 500 million has been allocated for the first phase of the integrated electric vehicle (EV) facility over the next five years.
The facility was opened in Thoothukudi district for south Tamil Nadu’s industrial expansion, according to people familiar with the matter. It is expected to generate 10,000 local employment opportunities, said the people. With companies such as Bosch and Yokohama tyres setting up manufacturing units in the region, the government is planning to position the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli district belt as “the third automobile hub in Tamil Nadu”. said the people. “In just 50 days since the MoU (was signed) Thoothukudi welcomes VinFast’s first EV plant -- a monumental stride for the Dravidian Model Economy,” Stalin was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“With ₹16,000 crore investments and 10,000 plus jobs on the horizon, we are charging ahead into a future where opportunity and innovation meet,” he said in a release.
Vinfast’s integrated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing unit will come up in an area of 380 acres at an industrial estate owned by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) in Silanatham village from where they can access the port of Thoothukudi. The company which began work on Sunday, plans to complete construction of the facility in a year and take another year to roll out manufactured electric cars including exports, said the officials. It will have the capacity to produce 1.5 lakh cars a year.
“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 in order for the customers to get used to our products,” VinFast India CEO Pham Sanh Chau told Reuters at the sidelines of the event.
“The central government is still considering it. But while waiting for the final decision we are moving ahead with our construction of the manufacturing facility.”
Vinfast is the first Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the automobile sector to enter Tamil Nadu in the last 15 years after Renault-Nissan in 2008. VinFast’s investment is being touted as a major boost to Tamil Nadu, which accounts for more than 40% of total planned investments in the EV sector.
“This is our third manufacturing facility (in the world after Vietnam and US) and we chose Tamil Nadu because we believe in the state’s creative talent and diligence as well as its progressive policies on EV,” Chau added.“A significant milestone for south Tamil Nadu with MoUs from the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 being quickly converted into jobs for TN,” minister for industries T R B Rajaa, who took part in the ground-breaking ceremony said.
“Today Tamil Nadu is the clear leader in the sector with over 70 % of all E- 2 Wheelers and 40 % of all E-4 wheelers sold in India being manufactured right here,” he said.
With PTI inputs
