CUSTOMERS in the US and Canada will soon get their Vinfast VF8s as the company sent out a shipment of 1,879 cars from its’ Haiphong factory to the Port of Benicia in California. In a press statement released to media, Vinfast said further that from there it will be distributed to 1,098 customers in the US and for the first time, delivered to 781 customers in Canada.
It will take about 20 days for the vehicles to arrive in California. Once in the US, it is expected that it will need another 10 to 20 days to clearing importation procedures and completing the required licenses and certificates. Thus, VinFast expects to hand over the cars to US customers in May and Canadian customers sometime in June.
Last December, the same ship, the Silver Queen left from Vietnam and arrived in the US on December 20. Due to some inconsistencies with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mileage standards and Vinfast test claims, the vehicles delivered were marked as the ‘City’ edition due to a reduced range compared to the actual VF 8 declaration. Testing and recertification was done delaying delivery. It wasn’t until early March that the vehicles were turned over to their first customers.
Two versions are included in this shipment, the Eco and the Plus.
The VF 8 Eco is equipped with a 260-kW maximum power electric motor reaching a maximum torque of 500Nm. At the same time, the Plus trim comes with a maximum power of 300 kW and maximum torque of 620Nm.
The VF 8 Standard is also equipped with the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), providing a wide range of features that will be enhanced and updated regularly with technologies such as highway assist, auto lane changing assist, fully-automated parking assistance, smart summon mode, remote parking and more.
Smart Services are integrated with immersive features such as virtual assistant and remote control via the VinFast app. In addition, convenience features such as online shopping along with in-car home and office services, etc. will provide an immersive experience to consumers.
This shipment fulfills Vinfast’s promise to its customers in North America for deliveries within the “first quarter of the year.” The company reported that since the release of the first batch in March, orders are still coming in and that the initial target of 5,000 units will be served.
“Our production is at pace right now to meet our commitments in Europe and the US,” a spokesperson from Vinfast told Malaya Business Insight. For the European markets, the first exports are expected to commence in mid-July 2023 with 700 VF 8 vehicles. VinFast will soon open reservations for VF 6 and VF 7 and deliver VF 9 vehicles to customers who have made reservations, according to a company press statement.
In 2022, VinFast expanded its global business network further, opening more than 30 retail stores and service centers in the US, Canada, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In Vietnam, VinFast officially delivered the first VF 9 all-electric SUVs to customers in March 2023 and expects to deliver the new subcompact VF 5 Plus models in April 2023.
