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,

VinFast launches its first overseas plant in India’s Tamil Nadu and is in talks to boost local sourcing, aiming to expand production and export electric vehicles across Asia.

VinFast's $500-million EV plant is located in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district, and is part of a planned $2 billion investment in India and a broader expansion across Asia. The facility will initially make 50,