diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh
index 42057b451aad..dd088ecf51e0 100755
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh
@@ -67,35 +67,108 @@ esac
 export REGISTRY=${REGISTRY:-localhost:5001}
 export TAG=${TAG:-latest}
 
-rm -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
-patch -c ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/deploy/vpa-rbac.yaml -i ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.diff -o ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
-kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
-# Other-versioned CRDs are irrelevant as we're running a modern-ish cluster.
-kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/deploy/vpa-v1-crd-gen.yaml
+# Deploy metrics server for E2E tests
 kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/k8s-metrics-server.yaml
 
+# Build and load Docker images for each component
 for i in ${COMPONENTS}; do
+  COMPONENT_NAME=$i
   if [ $i == recommender-externalmetrics ] ; then
-    i=recommender
+    COMPONENT_NAME=recommender
   fi
-  if [ $i == admission-controller ] ; then
-    (cd ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/pkg/${i} && bash ./gencerts.sh e2e || true)
-    kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/deploy/admission-controller-service.yaml
-  fi
-  ALL_ARCHITECTURES=${ARCH} make --directory ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/pkg/${i} docker-build REGISTRY=${REGISTRY} TAG=${TAG}
-  docker tag ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${i}-${ARCH}:${TAG} ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${i}:${TAG}
-  kind load docker-image ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${i}:${TAG}
+  ALL_ARCHITECTURES=${ARCH} make --directory ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/pkg/${COMPONENT_NAME} docker-build REGISTRY=${REGISTRY} TAG=${TAG}
+  docker tag ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${COMPONENT_NAME}-${ARCH}:${TAG} ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${COMPONENT_NAME}:${TAG}
+  kind load docker-image ${REGISTRY}/vpa-${COMPONENT_NAME}:${TAG}
 done
 
+# Prepare Helm values
+HELM_CHART_PATH="${SCRIPT_ROOT}/charts/vertical-pod-autoscaler"
+VALUES_FILE="${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/values-e2e-local.yaml"
+HELM_RELEASE_NAME="vpa"
+HELM_NAMESPACE="kube-system"
+
+# Build dynamic Helm set arguments based on components
+HELM_SET_ARGS=""
+
+# Enable components based on suite
 for i in ${COMPONENTS}; do
-  if [ $i == recommender-externalmetrics ] ; then
-     kubectl delete namespace monitoring --ignore-not-found=true
-     kubectl create namespace monitoring
-     kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/prometheus.yaml
-     kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/prometheus-adapter.yaml
-     kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/metrics-pump.yaml
-     kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/${i}-deployment.yaml
-  else
-    REGISTRY=${REGISTRY} TAG=${TAG} ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/vpa-process-yaml.sh ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/deploy/${i}-deployment.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
-  fi
+  case $i in
+    recommender|recommender-externalmetrics)
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set recommender.enabled=true"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set recommender.image.repository=${REGISTRY}/vpa-recommender"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set recommender.image.tag=${TAG}"
+      ;;
+    updater)
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set updater.enabled=true"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set updater.image.repository=${REGISTRY}/vpa-updater"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set updater.image.tag=${TAG}"
+      ;;
+    admission-controller)
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set admissionController.enabled=true"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set admissionController.image.repository=${REGISTRY}/vpa-admission-controller"
+      HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set admissionController.image.tag=${TAG}"
+      ;;
+  esac
 done
+
+# Add feature gates if specified
+if [ -n "${FEATURE_GATES:-}" ]; then
+  # Add feature gates to each enabled component
+  for i in ${COMPONENTS}; do
+    case $i in
+      recommender|recommender-externalmetrics)
+        HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set recommender.extraArgs[0]=--feature-gates=${FEATURE_GATES}"
+        ;;
+      updater)
+        HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set updater.extraArgs[0]=--feature-gates=${FEATURE_GATES}"
+        ;;
+      admission-controller)
+        HELM_SET_ARGS="${HELM_SET_ARGS} --set admissionController.extraArgs[0]=--feature-gates=${FEATURE_GATES}"
+        ;;
+    esac
+  done
+fi
+
+# Uninstall any existing VPA Helm release
+helm uninstall ${HELM_RELEASE_NAME} --namespace ${HELM_NAMESPACE} 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Install VPA using Helm chart
+echo " ** Installing VPA via Helm chart"
+helm install ${HELM_RELEASE_NAME} ${HELM_CHART_PATH} \
+  --namespace ${HELM_NAMESPACE} \
+  --values ${VALUES_FILE} \
+  ${HELM_SET_ARGS} \
+  --wait
+
+# Handle external metrics special case
+if [[ "${SUITE}" == "recommender-externalmetrics" ]]; then
+  echo " ** Setting up external metrics infrastructure"
+
+  # Apply extra RBAC for external metrics
+  rm -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
+  patch -c ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/deploy/vpa-rbac.yaml -i ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.diff -o ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
+  kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/vpa-rbac.yaml
+
+  # Deploy Prometheus and adapter for external metrics
+  kubectl delete namespace monitoring --ignore-not-found=true
+  kubectl create namespace monitoring
+  kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/prometheus.yaml
+  kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/prometheus-adapter.yaml
+  kubectl apply -f ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/e2e/metrics-pump.yaml
+
+  # Upgrade Helm release with external metrics configuration
+  echo " ** Updating recommender with external metrics args"
+  # Determine starting index for external metrics args (after feature gates if set)
+  EXTERNAL_METRICS_START_INDEX=0
+  if [ -n "${FEATURE_GATES:-}" ]; then
+    EXTERNAL_METRICS_START_INDEX=1
+  fi
+  helm upgrade ${HELM_RELEASE_NAME} ${HELM_CHART_PATH} \
+    --namespace ${HELM_NAMESPACE} \
+    --values ${VALUES_FILE} \
+    ${HELM_SET_ARGS} \
+    --set "recommender.extraArgs[${EXTERNAL_METRICS_START_INDEX}]=--use-external-metrics=true" \
+    --set "recommender.extraArgs[$((EXTERNAL_METRICS_START_INDEX + 1))]=--external-metrics-cpu-metric=cpu" \
+    --set "recommender.extraArgs[$((EXTERNAL_METRICS_START_INDEX + 2))]=--external-metrics-memory-metric=mem" \
+    --wait
+fi
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/dev-deploy-locally.sh b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/dev-deploy-locally.sh
index 426060a145f3..2dc828a010d5 100755
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/dev-deploy-locally.sh
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/dev-deploy-locally.sh
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ REQUIRED_COMMANDS="
 docker
 git
 go
+helm
 kubectl
 make
 "
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/e2e/values-e2e-local.yaml b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/e2e/values-e2e-local.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f53cdf1576f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/e2e/values-e2e-local.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Helm values for local E2E testing
+# Used by deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh
+
+# Image settings - will be overridden via --set at install time
+# admissionController.image.repository, admissionController.image.tag, etc.
+
+# Pod security context
+podSecurityContext:
+  runAsNonRoot: true
+  runAsUser: 65534
+
+# Component configurations optimized for local KIND cluster
+admissionController:
+  enabled: false  # Enabled dynamically based on suite
+  replicas: 1
+  image:
+    pullPolicy: Never
+  # Disable pod anti-affinity for single-node clusters
+  affinity: {}
+  podDisruptionBudget:
+    enabled: false
+  # Use Helm-managed webhook (certgen creates certificates)
+  registerWebhook: false
+  certGen:
+    enabled: true
+
+recommender:
+  enabled: false  # Enabled dynamically based on suite
+  replicas: 1
+  image:
+    pullPolicy: Never
+  # Disable pod anti-affinity for single-node clusters
+  affinity: {}
+  podDisruptionBudget:
+    enabled: false
+  # Disable leader election for single replica
+  leaderElection:
+    enabled: false
+
+updater:
+  enabled: false  # Enabled dynamically based on suite
+  replicas: 1
+  image:
+    pullPolicy: Never
+  # Disable pod anti-affinity for single-node clusters
+  affinity: {}
+  podDisruptionBudget:
+    enabled: false
+  # Disable leader election for single replica
+  leaderElection:
+    enabled: false
diff --git a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/run-e2e-locally.sh b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/run-e2e-locally.sh
index 9a31af75d2e9..f4075881a0a1 100755
--- a/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/run-e2e-locally.sh
+++ b/vertical-pod-autoscaler/hack/run-e2e-locally.sh
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ SUITE=$1
 REQUIRED_COMMANDS="
 docker
 go
+helm
 kind
 kubectl
 make
@@ -97,7 +98,8 @@ fi
 
 case ${SUITE} in
   recommender|recommender-externalmetrics|updater|admission-controller|actuation|full-vpa)
-    ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/vpa-down.sh
+    # Cleanup any existing VPA Helm release
+    helm uninstall vpa --namespace kube-system 2>/dev/null || true
     echo " ** Deploying for suite ${SUITE}"
     ${SCRIPT_ROOT}/hack/deploy-for-e2e-locally.sh ${SUITE}