VinFast Launches In The U.S. With Battery Subscription Service
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Vietnamese automaker VinFast celebrated the official U.S. launch of its VF8 and VF9 battery-electric crossovers this week, which offer a unique battery subscription model to help lower their initial purchase price.
Vinfast VF9
The VinFast VF8 is about the size of a mid-size crossover, while the larger VF9 is roughly on-par with a full-size three-row. These models will be sold in dual-motor Eco and Plus variants, with the Eco models more focused on range and efficiency and the Plus models more focused on performance. For both crossovers, the Eco models are rated at 348 horsepower and the Plus models are rated at 402 horsepower. The two models are also offered with their own regular and long-range battery packs. The longest-range battery pack in the VF8 Eco provides an estimated providing 292 miles of range, while the longest-range pack in the VF9 eco provides 360 miles of range.
Vinfast VF8
Pricing before destination freight charges for the VF8 starts at $40,700 for the Eco and $47,700 for the Plus, while pricing for the VF9 starts at $55,000 for the Eco and $60,500 for the Plus. There’s a slight catch, though: these prices do not include the price of the lithium-ion battery pack. To get that, the customer will have to enter a separate battery lease deal, with VinFast offering a mileage-limited Flexible Plan and an unlimited Fixed Plan. The Flexible Plan is designed for customers “who travel infrequently,” the automaker says, with a monthly battery subscription fee of $35 for VF 8 and $44 for VF 9. This is a monthly fee for a maximum of 310 miles of travel.
The Fixed plan, meanwhile, offers unlimited mileage and will cost $110 for VF8 and $160 for VF9. This is described as a lifetime subscription fee that can be easily transferred over to the new owner of the vehicle if they sell it second-hand. While this strategy may seem somewhat confusing and a bit costly, VinFast believes consumers will be enticed by not having to worry about their battery pack. If an owner’s battery experiences a fault or range dips below 70 percent of its original capacity, VinFast will replace it free of charge.
“By separating the price of the battery from the acquisition value of the automobile, VinFast takes on all the risks related to the vehicle’s battery and ensures a reasonable price for its products, while providing customers with peace of mind about the battery’s quality during use,” it said in a statement. “VinFast also commits to provide a lifetime battery warranty covering all maintenance and repair costs.”
The VinFast VF8 and VinFast VF9 crossovers are produced at the automaker’s production facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Order books for the two models will open later this year. It will be interesting to see if the battery subscription model is successful and if it will be adopted by other automakers, such as General Motors or Ford, if it ends up being well-received.
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VinFast: the face of what a modern Pontiac would have been.
Nice but where is the USA market???
Not sure how this fits. Firstly, I thought in the US, EV makers had to guarantee the battery for 8 years included in the price of the car. So for 8 years, you’d be paying for something already in the price of the car. Second, most people finance or lease anyway. So it just adds to the monthly payment, which determines affordability. I mean is the finance company really going to exclude the battery piece when it comes to qualifying for the loan? I don’t think so.
The idea is that you pay no more than a conventional gas vehicle at time of purchase because the expensive battery isn’t sold. The EV premium is spread out over the life of the vehicle. Instead of paying for gas each month, you pay the battery lease, and ideally the impact on your spending is the same or slightly less than a ICE vehicle.
That’s a great idea in theory. The problem is the MSRP for a VinFast VF9 3-row SUV is $60k, versus a Traverse at $33k, so they failed at saving anything.
Was thinking hey, not too bad looking for an SUV. Then I saw that one pic of the dash………………….
The tacked-on I-pad look is just nasty.
Yes, because the US dealing with Vietnam went so well last time……
Yeah and we got in a war with Canada, Mexico, England, Germany, France, Spain, Finland, Japan, and Italy so we should tell all of them to screw themselves.
We probably should, like a current European conflict that we should stay out of. Remember, we’re “woke” and “weak”..
No Sam, just the active commies.
Y’all missed a big part of this story, with VinFast’s announcement two weeks ago that it’s building a $2 billion factory in Chatham County, NC, southwest of Raleigh, to build these two models as well as batteries. It’s VinFast’s first North American production facility and North Carolina’s first major auto factory.
in positiveness these cars could so easily trigger Pontiac(GMs) motor division and be the staple fro the pontiac e-cars and cuvs mini vans and pickup etc., etc… instead of the usual combustible gas guzzler’s
hoping these cars come to north american market and trigger Pontiac e-vehicle lines productions etc
3 questions I can’t find an answer for:
– Normal car financing is up to 7 years now. Does this mean you can pay off the car but from years 8 on you’ll still be paying over $100/mo for your car to make it useable?
– Why not offer difference packs at different prices for people who don’t need as much range?
– If the company goes bankrupt, how does that affect this program.
This seems interesting but there are some major issues that will hold the majority of people back.
F9 plus will cost me $79,700 if I keep it for 10 years. For that price tag, I will buy a Mercedes GLS . At least I know I am buying from a company that being around for years and they made good cars. On the other hand, .Vinfast is a young company that will try to survive in the US market. What so special about Vinfast?using Tesla , ,BMW techs, most parts are from China and put together in Vietnam. Vietnam is still a Communist Country. They using a different sets of laws there. No company get big without involvement with government’s officials and corruptions…..Vinfast will find out soon enough when dealing with US market., Vinfast waiting on a US government loan to pay for the plant they wants to build in NC….On that note, I am ordering a F150 lighting.