First Batch of VinFast EVs Arrives In California & Are Cleared For Selling
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
The first batch of 999 VinFast VF8s and VF9s arrived in California today, December 20, fulfilling a promise first broached in April at the New York Auto Show, confirmed in Las Vegas and reconfirmed in the Los Angeles Auto Show just this November.
By the opening of the LA Auto Show, over 5,000 cars were already moving across the assembly lines at the same time that just one short of one thousand were already being readied to be loaded on the Silver Queen for shipment by early December to the US.
“Today marks a very important milestone for VinFast. Early this year in Las Vegas, we announced our lineup of all-electric SUVs and made a bold promise to deliver them to the market by the end of 2022. Today, that promise is fulfilled. Starting with this first delivery of 999 VF 8s City Edition, VinFast has made another giant step in its ongoing mission to bring all-electric transportation to everyone,” Madam Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup and CEO of VinFast Singapore said in a press statement.
Last September, CleanTechnica asked Madam Thuy how her company can deliver that promise, when during the visit to the company’s robotic assembly plant in Hai Phong the cars were still in various stages of assembly. The plant, built in just 21 months, features its own paint and press shops, an assembly line with over 1,200 robots, and a testing facility. Just within the compound is a battery manufacturing plant that boasts of not only clean energy for production but also new battery technologies for remanufacturing and recycling already built into the assembly technology.
“Many continue to be skeptical about VinFast and we want that. We want the challenge, not to prove them wrong but to show Vietnam and the world that our strategy to focus on the production of electric vehicles, cars, busses and scooters with the talent and the resources right here in Vietnam is the right one,” Madam Thuy commented.
Arriving in the Port of Benicia in California after 26 days at sea from Vietnam are the first 999 VinFast all-electric vehicles including the VF 8 City Edition, a limited edition specifically designed for the US market. This vehicle was created to enable a direct customer experience of VinFast vehicles in 2022.
The company also received all of the necessary certifications to sell cars in the US and will begin delivering vehicles to customers by the end of this month. These include EPA COC to import and sell vehicles into the US, the CARB EO to deliver vehicles to customers in California and states that have adopted CARB rules. These include Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington D.C. The brand has also successfully complied with all applicable FMVSS issued by NHTSA.
With all the features of the standard VF 8, the VF 8 City Edition uses the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and Smart Services platform. It will also be updated regularly over the air (FOTA) to improve vehicle functionality and customer experience.
The VF 8 City Edition will have an industry-leading 10-year warranty for the vehicle, a 10-year warranty for the battery (unlimited mileage), and 24/7 emergency roadside assistance during the warranty period. Designed for regular daily commuters, the VF 8 City Edition’s battery range has been recently certified by EPA at 179 miles for the Eco and Plus models.
VinFast assured the first purchasers of its vehicles that the innovative VinFast Battery Subscription Program will apply. VinFirst Pioneers (a name the company uses for its first buyers) who purchase a VF 8 or VF 9 in 2022 or 2023 will enjoy permanent subscription rates for the entire life of their vehicle.
According to public research, this range is several times better than the average daily range of a typical driver in California. It will be improved with a software update and the new range is expected to be announced by the end of January 2023.
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
