Vinfast has delivered its first VF 8 electric SUVs to U.S. customers, and it plans to open reservations for the VF 6 and VF 7 follow-up models in March, the company announced at CES in Las Vegas last week.
The first 100 VF 8 EVs were delivered in Vinfast’s home country of Vietnam in September 2022. Vinfast now says the first U.S. customer cars were delivered in December, shortly after their arrival from Vietnam.
Vinfast VF6
In a preview drive last April, we found that up close and in driving attributes, the automaker still had a lot of tuning and fine details to work out with the VF 8. In the rush to get its first EV into production and onto boats bound for the U.S., it’s unclear how much more fine tuning Vinfast undertook in the intervening months.
Vinfast also confirmed some details of the U.S.-spec versions of the VF 6 and VF 7 SUVs, which were first shown at the 2022 CES. Both will be offered in Eco and Plus trim levels.
The single-motor VF 6 is the smaller of the two and will have 174 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque in Eco trim, and 201 hp and 228 lb-ft in Plus trim. Vinfast is only publishing European WLTP range estimates for now, claiming 248 miles for the VF 6 Eco and 237 miles for the VF 6 Plus on that testing cycle.
Vinfast VF7
Slotting between the VF 6 and VF 8 in Vinfast’s lineup, the VF 7 gets the same 201-hp single-motor powertrain as the VF 6 Plus for its base Eco trim, while the VF 7 Plus has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain with 348 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque. WLTP range estimates are 280 miles for the Eco version and 268 miles for the Plus version.
The VF 6 gets a 12.9-inch touchscreen, while the VF 7 will be available with either that or a 15.0-inch display. Vinfast also promises some degree of standard driver-assist tech across Eco and Plus versions of both models.
Pricing and a delivery timeline should be announced closer to the March opening of reservations. Vinfast had originally planned on a mandatory battery leasing model for its EVs, but that’s now off the table.