By Praveen Paramasivam and Chandini Monnappa THOOTHUKUDI, India (Reuters) -Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast began operations at a new plant in India, its first overseas factory, on Monday, and said it hopes to source more parts locally and that it had received orders from Sri Lanka,

Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast has officially commenced production at its new manufacturing facility in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The US$500 million plant represents the first phase of a larger US$2 billion investment in India,

The $500 million plant, located in Tamil Nadu’s industrial corridor, will initially produce 50,000 electric cars per year, with the capacity to ramp up to 150,000 units.