Vietnamese auto major Vinfast, which has already made big strides in the electric car segment in India with its made-in-India VF6 and VF7 models, is also looking to enter other segments of the market, such as electric buses and electric scooters. To that end, the company had earlier revealed to Autocar Professional that it is developing purpose-built India-specific electric scooters. Now, we have learnt that Vinfast is working on bringing three of the e-scooters it sells in its home market of Vietnam to India.
- Initially scooters will come to India as CKDs
- Local manufacturing also being explored
- Evo, Feliz and Viper touted to come first
Three Vinfast e-scooters sold abroad coming to India
All three use LFP batteries and hub-mounted motors
We reached out to Vinfast regarding which models are going to come to India, and they have confirmed that to begin with, the company will bring the Evo, Feliz and Viper. Vinfast has also said these products will be “tailored to suit local usage conditions and mobility habits in each market”.
Initially, scooters will come to India as CKD (completely knocked down) units from Vietnam and be assembled at its plant in Tamil Nadu. Regarding localisation, the company claims that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu for the allocation of approximately 200 hectares of land at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Thoothukudi to expand the company’s existing facilities.
While Vinfast will begin its electric scooter business in 2026 itself by selling CKD models, we have also learnt from sources close to the company that, down the line, these products are also likely to be locally manufactured.
To give you some background on the scooters, the Feliz and Viper are traditional big-wheeled underbones that are commonplace across South-East Asian countries, while the Evo with 12-inch wheels is more similar to the scooters we see on our roads.
The Evo is powered by two 2.4kWh battery packs, which drive a hub-mounted motor rated for a rather modest 2.25kW of peak power. With a 770mm seat height, a fairly light 110-kilo kerb weight and a claimed 70kph top speed, the Evo is positioned fairly close in some parameters to bestselling Indian electric scooters such as the TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather Rizta. The Evo is priced at 22,800,000 VND, which is the equivalent of Rs 81,204, factoring in today’s exchange rate.
On the other hand, the Feliz and Viper run on 14-inch wheels and are also driven by hub-mounted motors. The Feliz has a 3kWh battery capacity, while the Viper has a larger 4.8kWh battery. The Viper also packs a more powerful 3kW motor, whereas the Feliz has a slightly less powerful 2.8kW unit. The edgy-looking Viper is priced at 45,500,000 VND, which is approximately Rs 1.63 lakh, while the Feliz costs 26,900,000 VND or roughly Rs 96,000.
Meanwhile, the company is also working on the India-specific electric scooters in the background. However, when these models will see the light of day is currently unknown.
Our take
In our opinion, it is the Vinfast Evo that makes the most sense for India. With its spacious 35-litre underseat storage area (compared to the tiny 10-litre one on the big-wheeled Feliz and Viper), neo-retro design and familiar 12-inch wheel setup, it has the potential to resonate most strongly with traditional buyers.
With inputs from KETAN THAKKAR