VinFast Appoints Prashanth Rao as Middle East CEO

Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer VinFast has named Prashanth Rao as Chief Executive Officer of its Middle East regional office, in a bid to strengthen the company's senior leadership as it pushes further into global markets. Rao confirmed the appointment on LinkedIn, describing himself as "excited" about the role and expressing optimism about the road ahead. He will take charge of day-to-day regional operations and will be accountable for the Middle East business's financial performance.

The new CEO arrives with close to 20 years behind him in the automotive sector, having held positions at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda, Nissan Motor Corporation and VinFast itself. His background covers after-sales management, dealer network development, customer quality, business operations and digital transformation.

Rao had most recently served as Director of Sales, Network Development and Aftersales at VinFast Middle East, where he was instrumental in the company's market entry strategy and the build-out of its dealership network across the region. He also oversaw the establishment of sales and aftersales operations, customer care centres, parts logistics, technical support infrastructure and programmes focused on EV battery repair and recycling.

Earlier, Rao held the position of Deputy CEO at VinFast India, where he contributed to electrification and digitalisation projects spanning several Asian markets and supported early-stage plans for local vehicle manufacturing.

His experience across India, Japan, the Middle East and ASEAN is seen as a significant asset as VinFast looks to scale its international EV operations.