Interview: VinFast is betting big on India's EV future, explains CEO Tapan Ghosh

VinFast, the Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer that entered the Indian market with two electric SUVs, the VinFast VF6 and VF7, is gearing up for its third product in the country, the VF MPV 7, which is slated for launch on April 15. This is going to be a seven-seater three-row MPV targeted at consumers seeking an affordable yet premium-looking big electric car for family, which can be equally capable of handling the regular commuting tasks as well as hitting the highways.

HT Auto had an insightful interaction with Tapan Ghosh, CEO of VinFast India, where the top official explained the company's India strategy, future growth plan, etc.

Here are the excerpts.

HT Auto: What's driving VinFast to bring the VF MPV 7 to India?

Tapan Ghosh: We are bringing the VinFast VF MPV 7 to India because we feel that there is a good market for a seven-seater vehicle which can give good comfort for the family. It is a spacious vehicle and practical as well, which can be driven inside the city and also outside the city on the highways. We strongly feel that there is a need for the electric MPV, and that's the reason why we are launching the MPV7 in mid-April.

VinFast VF MPV 7 is ready for India launch n April 15, as the brand's third electric car in the country.

HT Auto: Despite being a premium product, VinFast VF MPV 7 lacks some high-demand features like a sunroof, 360-degree camera, and ADAS. Do you think this is going to impact the buying decision of the consumers?

Tapan Ghosh: Whenever we are launching any product in India, we decide what the price range is, where we are going to launch the product, and accordingly, we do a thorough market research, customer clinic to find out what the consumers demand.

For the VF MPV 7 also, we have kept price positioning in our mind, and we have also done some planning to find out what the things are that the consumers require in this particular price and we found that the most important attribute which the customers want in this particular vehicle is that they want a big vehicle where the third-row seating is spacious enough, the leg room is enough, the cushioning is good, they feel very comfortable on long drive and it's perfect for seven adults to sit in a vehicle.

This is very important from the customers' point of view. Plus, if I talk about the range, customers want a high range. We are giving a 60.13 kWh battery offering more than 500 km range. Also, if I talk about the power and torque, they are very good.

So it really gives that particular performance which the customer wants. It's a practical, family-oriented, performance-driven vehicle, which I think, for the price which we are offering to customers, will be of great value for money.

VinFast VF6 and VF7 have been garnering positive consumer sentiment in India.

HT Auto: What's driving the consumer interest for VinFast VF6 and VinFast VF7?

Tapan Ghosh: Customers find the VF6 and VF7 offering premium attributes. They come as premium products with premium features at a very affordable price. The VF6 and VF7 customers like the unique design, as both these SUVs have a very refreshing design. Along with that, the quality and the build are very good, and there are a lot of features which both the VF6 and VF7 have. They are actually premium cars at an affordable price, offering the customers great value for money. This is why the customers really like the VF6 and VF7.

HT Auto: Do you have any plans to launch the VF3 in the Indian market because it seems more practical and more attractive for the Indian consumer, especially in the metro cities?

Tapan Ghosh: We have a good bouquet of electric vehicles which we can bring to India. The question is that we need to do research, we need to do product clinics, we need to find out what the volume potential is, which segment they are going to target, and what the price positioning will be for the VinFast VF3 and any other product which is there in Vietnam. Yes, we evaluate them, and we will be considering launching these products in the future course of time.

The VinFast VF3 is 216 mm longer, 174 mm wider, and 18 mm shorter than the MG Comet EV. It is under consideration by the OEM for the India launch.

HT Auto: India is a strong market for electric two-wheelers, with several players already present. Does VinFast, being a major player in this segment in the Southeast Asian market, have any plans to bring its electric two-wheelers to India? If yes, when can we expect them?

Tapan Ghosh: Yes, we are planning to have electric two-wheelers in the Indian market. Maybe in the second half of this year, we'll try to bring these.

HT Auto: Any specific electric two-wheeler that we would be seeing?

Tapan Ghosh: We are still evaluating the plan to start with maybe three models. We'll start with them, and then we'll have more models on the road.

HT Auto: There are several auto OEMs in the Indian market offering battery-as-a-service (BaaS) in the electric vehicle segment. Does VinFast also have such a plan to launch BaaS in the Indian market?

Tapan Ghosh: BaaS is a good concept which some OEMs are running, and we are also evaluating the same, whether to launch or not. The whole objective of BaaS is basically to reduce the cost of ownership for a customer. Not just the product, but the overall cost of ownership. So we are doing it in our own way to reduce the cost of ownership.

For example, we are giving free maintenance. We are giving free charging. We are giving excellent residual value. We are giving a good exchange scheme from ICE to EV. All these things which we are doing are basically to reduce the cost of ownership of the vehicle. We are doing it in our own way. Having said so, yes, we are studying BaaS, and we are evaluating whether to launch or not, and in what form we'll do it at a later stage.

HT Auto: Can we see the VF MPV 7 getting the BaaS?

Tapan Ghosh: BaaS is something which, if it is available, we can introduce it in many products. Why just in one product? But the point is that BaaS is something which requires more study from our side, whether it is going to really benefit our customers or not. So a lot of things are there which we are studying. Without data, we would not like to proceed. We are trying to study and get the data, and then accordingly we'll try to know whether to launch or not, when to launch, and what form. Then we'll see.

HT Auto: Could you please share some details of VinFast's expansion plan for the Indian market?

Tapan Ghosh: Currently, VinFast is present in 51 showrooms across India and going forward, this year, our plan is to have 75 showrooms across the country. Our plan is to be present in metro cities as well as try to increase our penetration in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

Also, besides that, if I talk about the expansion of the workshop network, we would like to end this year with 230 workshops. This includes a tie-up with the third-party service network to do minor repairs.

We would be launching new products every year. Our plan is to have two new products. We will be scaling up the manufacturing volume. We already have a plant capacity of 50,000 vehicles per annum. We'll try to produce more cars. We will try to improve the localisation of our cars in India. All these things we'll be doing to help increase the expansion of our vehicle sales.

Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India.