Vin there. Vin that. Vin doing it.

The 335-hectare VinFast plant, located in the Cat Hai Industrial Zone, produces electric cars, scooters, and buses. The hub includes a press shop, paint shop, and assembly shop. | Photos by Ronald delos Reyes

VinFast is hellbent on bringing its electric scooters to our own shores by July this year. Together with them are 30,000 battery-swapping charging stations spread all over the country. And the thing is they’re eyeing to put up all of them before the year ends. Sounds impossible? Perhaps.

But before we let any doubt cloud our minds.

This directive came from headquarters themselves.

Yes. VinFast. Or shall we say Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate, founded and chaired by Vietnam’s very first billionaire, Pham Nhat Vuong. To put this into perspective, Vingroup has an estimated net worth ranging from $27.7 billion to $35.9 billion, with market capitalization, as per New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) , of over $50 billion. This makes them far richer than our own richest, the Henry Sy Family with a combined net worth of about $13 billion.

Vuong is even dubbed as the “richest man” in the region, and is included in the world’s top 100 richest.

For the uninitiated, Vuong started his entrepreneurial career in Ukraine in the 1990s by launching a popular instant noodle brand called Mivina, which he later sold to Nestlé.

Upon the tycoon’s return to his home country he established Vinpearl (resort developments) and Vincom (commercial centers).

He later founded VinFast in 2017, shifting his focus to clean energy and technology as the flagship automotive arm of his business empire. He built his electric vehicle company in a record 21 months. Now, the company operates at a net loss as it rapidly scales globally. In 2025, its revenue reached $3.6 billion (VND 90.4 trillion).

Over the past three decades, the company has played a crucial role in Vietnam’s development, reshaping the physical landscape and improving the lives of millions.

Today, Vingroup is recognized as a multi-industry leader, with a diverse range of businesses including industry, technology, commerce, services and social philanthropy.

Vin’s why

If you look at it closely, Vingroup’s business focus extends beyond building wealth. On our recent 50-delegate visit to Vietnam, consisting of the Philippine motoring media, influencers, motorcycle vloggers and key opinion leaders, we learned that the conglomerate’s driving force transcends that of power and prestige.

It’s more deeply committed to contributing to the Vietnamese community, patriotism and elevating the country’s standing on the world stage.

Vingroup’s goal is “to create a better life for the people,” thus elevating the lives in every place they touch.

One report even stated that Vuong, in one candid interview, divulged that he lived and worked abroad for over 22 years.

“Despite my considerable success and recognition, I’ve always keenly sensed that the world does not yet hold Vietnam in high esteem.”

“We’re dedicated to raising this ‘flag’ ever higher and further. Simply put, we aspire to leave a lasting legacy for the world,” he added.

Moreover, when VinFast decided to go public in the United States, the EV maker aimed to raise $1 billion in investments. But Vuong made it clear that the IPO (initial public offering) wasn’t just about piling up cash.

“It’s about taking VinFast worldwide.”

This underscores Vuong’s focus on making his dream of “hoisting Vietnam’s flag on the world technology map” a reality.

One of the largest EV manufacturers in Southeast Asia.

On our visit to Vietnam, we went to the Phong manufacturing plant, located in the Cat Hai Industrial Zone. The 335-hectare plant produces electric cars, scooters, and buses. The hub includes a press shop, paint shop, and assembly shop.

Inside, they have motorcycle plants, which can produce about 3.2 million units a year. While their four-wheeler plant, employing about 3,000 workers and 800 robots, can churn out 50 cars per hour.

The plant can produce about 3.2 million motorcycle units a year.

VinFast has rapidly scaled its Southeast Asian presence, recording a 90-percent year-over-year growth in key ASEAN markets.

In Indonesia, the company is committing $1.2 billion for manufacturing facilities to supply local and regional demand.

The company heavily dominates its domestic Vietnamese market—where it is the best-selling brand—while aggressively expanding retail networks and capturing market share in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.

By the end of 2025, VinFast sold 406,453 e-scooters in Vietnam alone. There, they have about 50,000 battery-swapping stations, which they’re gunning to 180,000 soonest.

This is a typical battery-swapping charging station in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. VinFast is eyeing to put up 30,000 of these all over the Philippines.

Now, the company is set to debut electric motorcycles in the Philippines with a force to reckon with. This power move, so unfathomable, that all of us who were there at the mini press conference were simply left dumbstruck.

All VinFast PH electric motorcycle head honcho, Niño Fabros said to us (or the things that were more or less reasonable) was that their stations will be cheaper, more viable and more accessible compared to those that went before them.

“Magtiwala ka lang. Papatok ito,” he even averred to all of us, like a parent saying to a child, entrusting him with his future.

(Just believe. It will sell.)

Until now, imagining how they will be able to pull this off seems to be all but a blur.

But one thing is certain. VinFast is backed by a company, so big, that has already done it. It has made the impossible possible. It has penetrated markets and has come out on top. In short, all they are banking on is that they have been there, done that and they have been carrying their flags behind their backs while doing it.