VinFast launches "world class" flagship EV plant in Tamil Nadu, India Vietnamese EV maker VinFast opens its first overseas plant in Tamil Nadu, India, signalling a confident bet on one of the world’s fastest-growing vehicle markets and a strategic push toward regional exports and sustainable mobility leadership. Ilkhan Ozsevim
India targets $500bn in EV investment as government boosts manufacturing incentives and new players like Tesla, VinFast prepare entry Significant investments are now under way at domestic and international vehicle companies in India, in component production, electric and hybrid vehicle production for the domestic market, and to facilitate rising exports across the world. This is being encouraged under the government’s strapline of “Make in India for the world.” Ian Henry
India aims to become a global player in automotive manufacturing India is potentially on the cusp of becoming a major global player in vehicle production. Whether it can achieve this status will become clear in the next couple of years. The transition to EVs adds to the national challenge as the domestic players are not really leaders in this sector. Meanwhile, the Indian EV supply base is nascent and dependent on foreign investors. Ian Henry
ASEAN: Chinese OEMs increase investment through EV production The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now seeing increasing investment in electric vehicle production with Chinese OEMs leading the way. Ian Henry
Vinfast’s rocky road to global electric brand As late as mid-November 2021, former Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller was on stage at the Vinfast stand at the Los Angeles Auto Show. By the end of the year, the Vietnamese automaker announced his departure after just four months on the job, citing “personal reasons.” By late February 2022, Lohscheller had taken the reins at fuel cell truck startup Nikola, a company that has faced its own challenges over the past year. Fabian Pertschy Stefan Grundhoff Jason Dunn
Your webinar questions answered: How tier 1 suppliers are responding to tough headwinds You asked, we answer. We return to the questions from our audience that we didn’t have time to answer in our live webinar, ranging from which parts of automotive tier 1 suppliers’ business models are at risk of commodification, to how tier suppliers are changing manufacturing processes Daniel Harrison Christopher Ludwig
ZF begins chassis technology supply from new Vietnam plant ZF’s new €25 million plant in Hai Phong, Vietnam is up and running, set to supply chassis modules to neighbouring Vinfast car and e-scooter facility Gareth Price
