THE first forty-five of 999 vehicles exported to Los Angeles from Vietnam by domestic electric vehicle maker Vinfast have been turned over to their owners, 3 months after they were originally promised. The delay in the turnover had to do with reprogramming the vehicles improve range. The VF8 promised to get around 260 miles but based on testing of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the vehicle had a range of only 179 miles–80 miles short of what was advertised on the Vinfast website.
In a clarification from Vinfast sent to Malaya Business Insight, its engineering department said that the vehicles’ release was delayed as some adjustments were made to the VF8 which has been rebranded as the VF 8 City Edition, made exclusively for the U.S. market. The software adjustments already increased the range from 179 miles to 207 miles.
The VF8 City Edition comes in the Eco and Plus variants, differentiated by its available range at 207 and 191 miles respectively. The Eco is available at $399 a month with a $5,174 downpayment while the Plus is leased at $513 per month with $5,413 down. The leasing program is for California residents only.
The cars are equipped with a wide range of advanced technologies including ADAS and Smart Services. VinFast’s firmware over-the-air (FOTA) provides all VF vehicles with regular updates designed to enhance vehicle functionality and performance. Each car carries a 10-year warranty both the vehicles and battery, mobile services, 24/7 roadside assistance, and the option of worry-free battery subscription.
“The event drew tremendous attention from our U.S. consumers,” Gareth Dunsmore, VinFast Deputy CEO, Global Sales & Marketing said. The turnovers were put in doubt earlier by reports from automobile blogs and news outlets questioning the almost 3-month delay in the delivery to customers, and concerns about the corporate health of Vinfast in the US.
In an email interview with Malaya Business Insight, Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chair and Chairwoman of VinFast Holdings clarified the two most pressing issues–the retrenchment of 80 employees of Vinfast US, including its CFO Rodney Haynes and the delay in delivery to customers.
“VinFast is consolidating strategic business and management operations of VinFast US and VinFast Canada into a single unit, to be called VinFast North America, to drive increased efficiency in the use and allocation of resources, while improving VinFast’s operational and financial performance,” Thuy told Malaya Business Insight.
As to Rodney Haynes leaving the company she said that in the process of consolidation, “it is inevitable that some positions will be adjusted, but all employees’ rights and benefits are ensured in accordance with the law. We have started recruiting key positions for the North Carolina factory. Rodney Haynes’ departure does not affect VinFast’s operations in the US or globally.”
On the matter of the delay, the Vinfast head said that software adjustments to the vehicles were made. These were both to enhance performance including mileage for the City Edition Plus after EPA validation.
Several handover events happened in the 10 operating sales outlets of Vinfast in the Los Angeles area. The VF8 City Edition Eco costs $49K while the Plus is priced at $56K. The company’s innovative battery subscription plan is unavailable for this variant of the VF8. However, a source at Vinfast confirms that “battery leasing options can be open in the future.”
“It’s extremely gratifying in fulfilling our delivery promise and to witness the excitement our customers have for the VinFast brand. This is a great moment for all of us and more motivation to continuously strive to exceed the expectations of our valued customers,” Dunsmore shared adding that the company will continue to organize large-scale test drive programs across California.
