VinFast is opening showrooms in the USA

Vietnamese electric car manufacturer VinFast will open its first six U.S. showrooms in California this week, with plans for 30 locations throughout the state by the end of the year.

This marks the beginning of VinFasts marketing for the US American market. To start, six locations were chosen in Santa Monica, San Diego, San Mateo, Corte Madera, Commerce, and Berkeley, with more to follow, as mentioned above. To start, VinFast will be importing vehicles from Asia, plans are for the Vietnamese startups US American factory in North Carolina to start producing in around 18 months.

VinFasts US vehicle lineup will start with two vehicles options, the five-seated VF 8 and the electric van VF 9. The VF 8 will start at prices from $40,700 to $48,000, depending on vehicle setup, while the VF 9 will retail for prices between $55,000 and $61,000. Ranges for the vehicles are set at 248-292 miles (400-470 km) for the VF 8 and 262-369 miles (422-594 km) for the VF9. VinFast is also following a somewhat unusual sales model, where the vehicle is purchased by the customers, but the battery is leased. The idea is that VinFast will then replace the battery once the useable capacity falls below 70 per cent.

Amazingly enough, VinFast already has customers in the United States, as Artemis DNA, a biotech company, reserved 100 of their EVs after the CES, with delivery planned late this year. In Europe, VinFast is also ramping up sales, and recently announced plans for stores in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

autonews.com (paywall), caranddriver.com, carscoops.com