Recently, I made my first ever visit to Vietnam as a guest of Vietnamese EV (electric vehicle) manufacturer VinFast, which is part of Vingroup – the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam.

 Founded in 2017, VinFast is a young car company. In 2021, it announced its all electric vehicle strategy and unveiled its lineup. By 2023, it launched global showrooms in the advanced markets of US, Canada, and Europe, and by 2024, it was the top selling car brand in Vietnam. The same year in February 2024, VinFast had the groundbreaking ceremony of its EV manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu. And in January 2025, VinFast officially entered the Indian market by unveiling its VF6 and VF7 models, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025.

So in less than 10 years since its birth, VinFast now sells its EVs in United States, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands and the Philippines. It also has an assembly plant in Indonesia and a manufacturing facility in India. VinFast currently ranks approximately 8th amongst global electric vehicle manufacturers and is the 4th largest electric passenger vehicle maker in India, with a target of delivering approximately 300,000 EV’s globally in 2026.

The reason I am citing all these figures is to show that VinFast does not just have speed in its name, but is also a swift mover with an extremely impressive record in a short time. And mind you, this period has been amongst the most difficult periods for the global economy, with unexpected challenges like the Covid Pandemic, the Russia Ukraine War, and now since the beginning of this year, the raging conflict in the Middle East.

Despite all this, VinFast has done well, and after visiting Vietnam, I have a better insight into some of the reasons for its success. Let’s do a quick comparison of our two countries. In the last 100 years, Vietnam has fought many wars including a long one with the United States. These wars took a massive toll on human life (resulting in some 2 to 3 million Vietnamese deaths) and also severely damaged the structures and environment, and resulted in widespread chemical devastation of this largely agrarian nation. But as I learnt while talking with some of the locals, in their culture, bamboo which is a vital natural resource in Vietnam is far more than a simple grass. It is also a symbol of resilience, flexibility, unity, and indomitable spirit. I was also told that as symbolized by the bamboo plant, the Vietnamese national character can bend under pressure, but does not break.

And it is this resilience that subsequently led Vietnam to reform its economy, which has sparked fast growth, and pushed down extreme poverty from over 50%, to near zero. Today, Vietnam is a major global manufacturing and trading hub with a young and ambitious population that is driving the rapid modernization. And in my view, it’s not just VinFast that is in a hurry to grow, but the people of Vietnam are also striving and rushing to rise.

In comparison, since our Independence in 1947, despite the wars we have fought with Pakistan and China, our country has not seen as much turmoil and things have been relatively easier for us. And ever since our economic reforms in 1991, initiated by then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, India has become one of the fastest-growing economies globally, with an average annual GDP growth rate of roughly 6.5%.

Another aspect in which we differ majorly, is in the fact that India has a massive, domestically driven economy, whereas Vietnam has a smaller, export-focused economy. Yes we consume more than we export, whereas Vietnam’s economy is heavily export driven. In recent years, Vietnam has also emerged as a key alternative manufacturing base for assembly lines moving away from China.

Though I am no economic expert, what common sense (and my observations and experiences) tell me, is that since we have the largest population on the planet, it’s our domestic demand that makes us one of the biggest markets, both for indigenous Indian manufacturers and the many MNC’s that have come and set up shop in our country. Fortunately, we are also a fairly large and fertile country with many natural resources, so we have been doing quite well economically, despite not earning a lot from exports.

But let’s be honest, since we don’t have any dire need or pressure to be serious competitors in international markets, our standards are well, ahem, to put it politely, more local than international. And in my view, this is why we are still to create globally successful, Indian brands or products. While our manufacturing capabilities, infrastructure, and so on, have undoubtedly improved and we can now also boast of a thriving auto industry, we are still far from exporting “Designed, Developed and Engineered in India Automobiles”, to developed nations and advanced markets. Of course Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, etc, export a substantial number of vehicles made in their Indian factories, but these are all still largely designed and developed in Japan, Korea, and Europe and so on.

So what does all this have to do with the fast growth of a Vietnamese car company like VinFast? In my opinion they have expanded so quickly and also gone global in a short time, because they know they cannot survive and grow only on domestic demand. They have to spread their wings, and as I witnessed in Vietnam, they are doing it in an appreciable fashion. Will they be successful? In my view, yes. Because of several reasons. For one they have the hunger and need to go global. Then there is the fact that their people also want to grow and it’s this desire along with their resilience and discipline, which will surely play a big role and contribute to their success.

Like India, Vietnam is also a tropical country blessed with fresh fruit. And its while having some fruit in Vietnam that I felt, “These people can, and will, make good products”! I am not joking – it was a sort of “fruit realization moment”. Yes, in my view the way the Vietnamese cut and serve fruits, will definitely make a difference in how well they manufacture and service products, and even run an industry?

Let me cite an example. At breakfast in my hotel in Hanoi, I saw a fruit counter and approached the lady and asked for some freshly cut papaya. She pulled out the fruit from a shelf, slipped on transparent hand gloves, held the papaya under a shower spout and washed it. Then she placed it vertically on a chopping board that she had just cleaned in front of me. Next she reached for a paring knife with a curved blade and deftly carved away the outer skin of the papaya. Then she took another longer knife with a straight blade and sliced the papaya into 4 parts. After which she took a scooping spoon with a long but slender bowl and proceeded to remove the seeds and skin inside. All of these she carefully put away in a clean container placed near her. Finally she placed the 4 slices of papaya on a clean plate and then took another thin but sharp knife, and made small and easy to eat pieces of the papaya. Everything was done with smooth, rhythmic movements and she used 4 different tools to cut a papaya. This process of cutting the fruit stayed with me.

Later when I was strolling around the streets of Hanoi, I saw several fruit vendors. And also some street food stalls. Like several other parts of Asia, and of course our very own India, street food is quite popular in Vietnam. But the big difference that was immediately apparent was in the way the fruit was displayed, stored and served. Everything was done in an extremely systematic and hygienic manner. The food carts were sparkling clean too. All cut fruit and food was covered. There was no litter or thrash and all the sellers or servers were neatly attired and wore gloves every time they handled any food. Pride in their work or profession, was clearly apparent. The people who were buying or eating the food, also made sure they did not litter or dirty the surroundings in anyway. Discipline of the people was on display.

This is obviously opposite to what we are used to seeing in India. Imagine seeing someone use 4 different tools to cut a papaya. Impossible. Most times even our electricians, carpenters, mechanics, and other technicians, who need to use tools, either don’t have the right ones, or neglect using them. One plier will be used to open all nuts and bolts because they don’t have the right size spanner. And if the plier does not work – you can always use a screwdriver and hammer to loosen the wretched nut! Most carpenters don’t have proper measuring or cutting tools, and if you point this out – the standard answers are “Kuch Nahi Hota Hai”, or it does not make any difference, and “Chalta Hai”, or its fine. Perfection and excellence has become alien to us – it’s all “Chalta Hai”.

But I can also not deny that we are possibly the best in the world when it comes to adapting and working with limited resources. In fact the Oxford Dictionary has included the Hindi word “jugaad”, which broadly means a flexible approach to solving problems with limited resources. Yes, we can think out of the box, and improvise like nobody else to fix problems and solve things.

However I wish we soon go back from improvisation to perfection, and to the times when we were world leaders in mathematics, trade, architecture, art, literature, advanced medical sciences like Ayurveda, fine textiles and unmatched craftsmanship, philosophy, and so much more. Its time to bring it all back and strive for excellence like we once did. But for now lets return to my visit to Vietnam.

During my approximately week long stay in Vietnam, I mainly used taxis to commute. And one shocking and pleasantly surprising fact was how clean the interiors of the taxis were, and how neatly dressed the drivers were. Then on one long drive from Hanoi to the Vinfast Hai Phong Factory, I experienced something that completely blew me away. It was raining and the highway was crowded with many big trucks. I was sitting in front with the driver (as I always do – no rear seats for me please) and noticed the driver looking into his outside door mirror every time he pulled out to overtake a slow moving truck. But due to the rain and spray from the wheels of the trucks, the mirror had gotten dirty. The driver found a lay-by and stopped to clean the outside door mirror with a wet tissue he took from the pack kept inside the cab for passengers! He diligently rubbed the mirror, even though he was getting wet in the rain. He then took some sanitizer (also kept for use of passengers) and applied a bit on the mirror, so the alcohol in it would prevent water and dirt from sticking to the glass. This one act of the taxi driver completely won me over.

Can you imagine any Indian chauffeur doing this?  I can guarantee that not even one driving the best and most expensive luxury cars and employed with our richest people would. I cannot even picture most auto enthusiasts (or auto journos for that matter) doing something like this.

All this certainly makes me feel that Vietnam has the desire, and people, to make its mark as a manufacturer on the international stage. One more thing that was refreshing was seeing how eager the VinFast management was to learn, and how open they were to criticism and suggestions. As a matter of fact they had a seminar where about 2 dozen of us from different backgrounds, who were invited from India, were given a stage, to share our views on the “Future of Mobility”. As expected, there were diverse opinions and few heated debates, and the VinFast team carefully made notes of it all.

After visiting their manufacturing plant and driving some of their EVs (you can read about it in the reviews section) I had some feedback, and not all of it was positive or complimentary. To their credit, the VinFast Team sportingly accepted the criticisms and took deep interest in having my suggestions on what should be improved, and how. This desire to learn should surely help them grow and improve on their shortcomings.

This is quite unlike few Indian manufacturers who don’t take too kindly to criticism and often label you as “Anti” in case you express your honest and uncomplimentary opinion. The “We Know it All” and “Don’t Need Feedback” attitude, and labeling all those who find faults, as “Anti”, is unfortunately now a widespread malaise in our country, and something we are witnessing all around us.

But as this is not about our country, but what I learnt and observed on my visit to Vietnam, I would like to conclude by saying – “Yes the way you cut a fruit. The clean and hygienic way in which it’s served and stored. And also the disciplined and precise manner in which you use the right tools (after all it’s the use of tools that separates us from other beings), can definitely influence the way one makes and maintains cars, and also other products”. Now I think I will let you go to eat your fruit. Make sure you cut and slice it properly. With 3 different knives and one scooping spoon please.