The next chapter of the electric vehicle story won't be written by better cars alone. Charging networks, service centres, financing options and wider mobility services are fast becoming as decisive as the vehicles themselves — and VinFast's playbook offers a clear look at where the industry is heading.

History backs the point. Detroit didn't become the world's car capital because one company built a better vehicle, just as Silicon Valley and Shenzhen didn't rise on the back of any single firm. In each case, leadership came from dense networks of suppliers, infrastructure, financing and skilled talent feeding off one another. The EV business is now following the same script.

For a decade, the conversation stayed fixed on batteries, range and performance. Those still matter, but they no longer guarantee much on their own. As EVs move past early adopters into the mainstream, buyers want reassurance — that charging will be easy, service reliable, financing affordable and the car usable without headaches for years. As JP Emobility India Managing Director Rishav Kumar Choudhary put it in May, the job isn't only selling cars but building the infrastructure around them and settling worries over charging, aftersales and resale value.

The numbers show why this matters. The International Energy Agency reports more than 20 million EVs sold worldwide last year, a quarter of all new passenger vehicles and up 20% on 2024 — the fifth straight year sales climbed by roughly 3.5 million. Yet surveys keep flagging the same anxieties: charging access, charging time, range and long-term reliability.

That's pushing manufacturers to think past the assembly line. Pure-play EV brands are building their own batteries, charging networks and software, while legacy carmakers are rushing into partnerships with charging operators and software firms. Call it a network effect — a denser charging grid eases range worries, better service builds ownership confidence, and attractive financing lowers the switch from petrol and diesel.

Nowhere is that thinking clearer than at VinFast. Backed by Vietnam's largest private conglomerate, the maker has leaned on Vingroup and founder-linked companies to assemble a full mobility ecosystem. V-Green, owned by founder Pham Nhat Vuong, is rolling out around 150,000 charging ports nationwide. Ride-hailing arm Green SM lets people sample VinFast EVs before buying, and the company's electric buses are normalising the technology on public roads.

The approach has fuelled fast growth. VinFast delivered nearly 197,000 EVs globally in 2025, more than double the previous year, and has been Vietnam's best-selling car brand for 20 straight months. In India, where four-wheeler EV sales jumped 75% to 165,000 units last year, the company is expanding to 75 showrooms and over 230 service stations alongside its Tamil Nadu plant.