VinFast shifts focus to Asian markets after US, Europe setbacks

VinFast Auto, the Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker backed by Pham Nhat Vuong, is shifting its focus to Asian markets after struggling to gain traction in the US and Europe.

Vuong, who has invested over US$14 billion into VinFast, is now targeting countries such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines to help stem the company’s financial losses.

VinFast recently opened its first overseas assembly plant in India, with capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year and an initial investment of US$500 million, planning to eventually invest up to US$2 billion in the country.

A new factory in Indonesia is also set to open in the coming months.

Despite these expansion efforts, about 90% of VinFast’s 2024 global deliveries took place in Vietnam, and 92% of its cumulative revenue over the past four years has come from its home market.

VinFast reported a US$3.2 billion loss last year and has delayed its planned US factory until 2028.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Unprecedented founder commitment reveals the capital intensity of global EV expansion

Vuong’s financial commitment to VinFast represents one of the most significant personal investments by a founder in automotive history.

He has already invested over $2 billion of his personal fortune into the company, with Vingroup lending an additional $1.4 billion by 2026, and Vuong personally pledging another $2.1 billion beyond that1.

In Q2 2025 alone, he injected $686.5 million, bringing his total personal contributions to $1.9 billion2.

This level of founder commitment highlights the extreme capital requirements for building a global automotive brand from scratch.

The scale becomes even more striking when considering VinFast’s current losses. The company posted a $3.2 billion net loss in 2024 despite delivering 97,399 vehicles globally, meaning it lost roughly $32,000 per vehicle sold3.

This financial reality demonstrates why most automotive startups fail or get acquired before achieving scale, as the cash requirements far exceed typical venture capital funding cycles.