Thanks in part to import duties on vehicles from outside Vietnam, VinFast’s first vehicles were local best-sellers. The first car on sale is the VF8, a midsize, five-seater crossover. An early VF8 city edition achieved around 200 miles of range with less sophisticated battery tech. The VF 9 is positioned above the VF 8 and is intended to compete with family-orientated electric SUVs such as the Kia EV 9 or the Cadillac Vistiq. It is a three-row, all-electric SUV for seven people with a length of 5.12 metres, a width of 2.25 metres and a height of 1.70 metres.
VinFast Electric Cars
Being an EV, acceleration is predictably smooth, but with the 19-inch Goodyear Eagle Touring tires under load in the final turn, the steering’s power assistance has brief moments where it feels oddly nonlinear. Given VinFast’s damn-the-torpedoes corporate pace, it should come as no surprise that the two VF 8 prototypes I’m testing are decidedly unfinished. In fact, they’re not even operating on the same development software versions, and many of the vehicles’ software functions… Combine that with a makeshift drive loop that’s perhaps a couple of kilometers long, and it’s all but impossible to draw concrete conclusions about whether or not this EV belongs on your shopping list. Having said that, what my drive points out clearly is the promise baked into the VF 8.
They opened at $22, more than double the initial price of $10, and closed at $37 apiece. If VinFast is able to fix the VF8’s problems and re-introduce the vehicle, they might be able to resume their upward trajectory. The company’s slate of upcoming EVs seems to be well thought-out and right for the U.S. market, but only time will tell how the VinFast story plays out. Inside the VF8, the interior was drab, with a Tesla-like center screen and no instrument panel in front of the driver — although a heads-up display (HUD) was used to project information onto the windshield. The front seats looked good and had many controls, but lacked support and comfort.
- The company recently revealed that 7,100 of its 11,300 global sales in the first half of 2023 were to Green and Smart Mobility, a Vietnamese taxi firm controlled by Vingroup.
- Bypassing independent franchised auto dealers, something electric car start-ups like Tesla and Rivian also do, has led to legal battles in a number of states where an automaker selling directly to consumers violates state laws.
- Despite such dire conditions, if I had to place my chips on a single new automaker to escape the mire, it’s Vietnam’s VinFast.
- That being said, an apparent indicator of VinFast’s belief in its future in the U.S. market was its July 2023 groundbreaking for a new $4 billion auto plant located in North Carolina.
- WardsAuto recently drove a VF8 and found it to be adequate, albeit with some design choices that could still hold it back in the U.S., such as a lack of knobs/switchgear around the center screen.
- The company is offering a 3-year lease for $249 per month, with no money down on the VF8, so if nothing else it is a big value story.
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Cash due at signing includes $249 first month’s payment, $695 acquisition fee, $0 down payment and $0 security deposit. Lessee responsible for insurance during the lease term, excess wear and tear as defined in the lease contract, $0.25/mile over 30,000 miles, plus disposition fee of up to $395 (not to exceed an amount permissible by law) at lease end. Through November 30, 2024, lease offer is available on the new 2024 VinFast VF 8 Plus model leased through VinFast Auto, LLC (offer subject to change based upon availability).
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Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics. Pham Nhat Vuong has an estimated net worth of $55.9 billion, making him the richest person in Vietnam and the 23rd richest in the world. He is the chair of Vingroup, the largest conglomerate in Vietnam, with units in the real estate development, EV, technology and retail sectors. Monday, just two weeks after its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market with a share price of $10 convert swedish krona to japanese yen and a valuation of $23 billion following a merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co. in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal.
VinFast VF 8 First Drive Review: Testing Vietnam’s First EV for America
(201,168-km) warranty, with the battery pack covered by a 10-year unlimited-miles warranty also applied to the VF9, as a big positive. The warranty could come in handy as CR, which rented the vehicle for an extended evaluation, complained about power delivery, regenerative braking programming, ride, steering and suspension tuning. It also is critical of the interior materials, which its testers doubt will hold up well over time against rough-and-tumble kids. The latest cuts bring it down to $69,800 for Eco and $73,800 for Plus. To help move initial products, VinFast is offering a monthly lease of $529/mo for 24 months, which includes a $7,500 tax incentive, $7,000 in discounts, and a $2,000 australia government bond 10y down payment.
Electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013. As the industry’s leading trade media, we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology. With news, background information, driving reports, interviews, videos and advertising messages. However, VinFast’s service network remote mobile developer jobs in the US is still relatively small. It currently comprises 15 shops and four service centres in California, and partnerships with 36 dealers in 15 states. In Canada, on the other hand, there are ten showrooms and 57 certified workshops.