First 45 electric vehicles from VinFast delivered in the US

VinFast is not enjoying a smooth start to its business venture in the US. First the company faced two months of delays while preparing the vehicles delivered to the US to actually be able to sell them to customers. Then it had to confirm that the advertised driving range was nowhere near the real number.

Just before the first deliveries took place, the company changed its mind about the renting option and dropped it entirely thus making a lot of customers angry. In trying to make up for it, VinFast cut the prices of lease agreements by half.

The company decided on a rebranding exercise to address the issue with a shorter than advertised range of the VF8. The vehicle now is called VF8 City Edition Eco which is supposed to reflect its EPA rated 207 miles range (333 km).

VinFast is being very clever with the $7,500 EV tax credit. Since under the new rules, neither of its electric cars qualifies for it, VinFast hired an American finance company US Bancorp. The loophole in the new legislation means that any electric vehicle, regardless of its origin, qualifies for the EV tax credit as long as it is provided under a lease agreement from an IRS approved provider.

With all that out of the way, the VF8 is available on a 24-month lease of $399 and if you're lucky enough and living in California, the lease comes down to $274 thanks to additional incentives available to finance companies. First 45 customers were happy with their cars with some of them already placing orders for more EVs from VinFast.

It’s a bumpy start for VinFast, due to the initial delays the company had to reduce its workforce in the US and it had to merge its Canadian and the US operations. Once the deliveries are running smoothly though, the company is looking at a good year ahead. It has 2,500 vehicles on order from Autonomy, the vehicle subscription service, and it is waiting for a final approval of its $4 billion factory in North Carolina.

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