Vietnam EV maker VinFast begins building $200 mln plant in Indonesia

VinFast, under Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup, kicked off the construction of a $200-million factory in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, on Monday.

This strategic move into one of Southeast Asia's most promising EV markets underscores VinFast’s commitment to expanding its presence in the region and supporting Indonesia’s burgeoning electric vehicle industry, the firm said.

VinFast’s new EV assembly plant features several key production areas such as body shop, general assembly shop, paint shop, and testing area. It has an annual capacity of 50,000 units.

The factory is set to begin operations in Q4/2025, providing right-hand drive versions of VinFasts e-SUV models, including VF 3, VF 5, VF 6 and VF 7 for the Indonesian market.

The Indonesian government encourages foreign investment entering the automotive industry sector, said H.Moeldoko, chief of presidential staff of Indonesia. “We believe that VinFast presence will bring technological innovation and knowledge transfer that is much needed to increase the competitiveness of the national automotive industry,” he added.

VinFast started operating its current manufacturing complex in Vietnam's northern coastal city of Hai Phong. In July 2023, the company conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for its EV and battery production complex in North Carolina, the United States, with around $4 billion in total investment, and half for the first stage.

In February 2024, VinFast officially broke ground on its first integrated EV manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The EV facility boasts a total initial investment of $500 million over five years, out of the total investment of $2 billion, with a projected capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually, VinFast said.

VinFast delivered 21,747 EVs in the first half of 2024, up 92% year-on-year, the EV maker said last week. While the delivery results in Q2 were encouraging, ongoing economic headwinds and uncertainties in different macro-economies and the global EV landscape necessitate a more prudent outlook for the rest of the year, the company said.