Vietnamese electric vehicles (EVs) maker VinFast has said that the company seeks to continue receiving support in investment policies from the Indian government as well as fostering a conducive environment for business operations to jointly bolster green transportation in India. The company that had announced $2 billion investment at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu also said that in order to benefit from long-term incentives for EVs, it would accelerate the construction of the manufacturing facility.

businessline had on Monday reported that the company was in some sort of confusion regarding the new EV policy to the company, and it might slow down its investment in India.

“We are encouraged by the government’s commitment to EV development in India. In order to benefit from the long-term incentives for electric vehicles, we will concentrate on accelerating the construction of the manufacturing facility,” Pham Sanh Chau, Chief Executive Officer, VinFast India said. Without giving further details on getting the benefits from the new EV policy or any update on the exact investment, he said, “Looking ahead, we seek to continue receiving support in investment policies, as well as fostering a conducive environment for business operations to jointly foster green transportation in India.”

Lack of clarity

According to sources, Chau who attended meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Heavy Industries last week, had some confusion after learning from the MHI Secretary that any benefit/subsidy that a company seeks to get, will be applicable only once the policy is in place, and not from the date an OEM starts investment.

The meeting at MHI was chaired by Secretary, Kamran Rizvi and Additional Secretary, Hanif Qureshi with the stakeholders from the auto industry including VinFast, Hyundai Motor India, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

VinFast and the Tamil Nadu government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 6, where both parties agreed to invest $2 billion. The initial commitment for the first phase of the project, spanning five years from the commencement date, is set at $500 million. The facility is expected to create 3,000-3,500 employment opportunities locally.

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