It was quite a memorable Monday in the short history of electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast (VFS +0.00%). The company formally opened its first factory in Southeast Asia outside of its native Vietnam, and investors cheered the expansion. They collectively traded the company's U.S.-listed shares up by more than 5% on a generally gloomy day for the stock market.
Indonesian expansion
VinFast cut the ribbon on that new facility, located in Subang, Indonesia. It did so in a formal ceremony that included representatives of both the Indonesian and Vietnamese governments, in addition to company officials.
Image source: Getty Images.
VinFast had the accelerator firmly pressed for the factory project. In its press release trumpeting its opening, the company took pains to state that it was finished and operational only 17 months after its groundbreaking ceremony.
Initially, the plant's workers will assemble the company's VF 3, VF 5, VF 6, and VF 7 models, purely for the domestic market. VinFast added that new models scheduled for sale on the Indonesian market in 2026 will also be produced at the plant.
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Worldwide ambitions
In the press release, VinFast wrote that the new factory "clearly reinforces VinFast's role in building the electric vehicle value chain in Indonesia, contributing to the elevation of Southeast Asia's position on the global EV industry map."
And of course, by extension, it gives the auto industry upstart a direct presence in the country, which is by far the most populous in the region with over 283 million inhabitants. The company has always had ambitious plans to be a global EV player, and the Subang plant is a highly encouraging sign that management is putting its money where its mouth is.
