The SUV is now EPA-rated at 179 miles on a charge.
From the outside looking in, it appears that VinFast has succeeded in meeting its target delivery date at the cost of failing the customer. The young EV automaker said repeatedly this year that it planned to deliver the first examples of the VF 8 battery-electric SUV to reservation holders before the end of 2022. The cargo ship Silver Queen departed Vietnam in late November, decommissioning 999 VF 8 in December at the port of Benicia, north of San Francisco. Then came Ollie Switcheroo. Each unit on board the cargo ship was a previously rumored "limited release" variant called the City Edition "exclusively for VinFirst Pioneer customers," the first among reservation holders. In a letter to prospective buyers, VinFast said the City Edition's "initial release was to meet the demand of VinFast vehicle enthusiasts" and have a range of "around" 180 miles instead of the 260 miles promised in April this year. Offers a range.
The City Edition's smaller range comes courtesy of a smaller 82-kWh battery instead of the 87.7-kWh battery in the VF 8. The bad news continues with VinFast's retail site claiming 179 EPA-estimated mileage, not 180. The company says an OTA update in January will improve the range, but didn't say how much.
The automakers also delayed their battery subscription program that cost $169 a month for the VF 8 and gave customers unlimited miles. The corresponding page on the retail site now says, "All vehicles are currently sold or leased with the battery included," and the vehicles are warrantied for 10 years or 125,000 miles. With the subscription being used as a way to save money on one-time leasing or ownership, its end may help explain why prices on series production models have risen. In April, VinFast expected to sell the VF 8 Eco with 260 miles of range for $41,200 after a $1,200 destination fee, the VF 8 Plus for $49,200, with 277 miles of range. Now City Edition Eco starts at $56,700, City Edition Plus starts at $63,700, base VF 8 Eco starts at $60,200.
For comparison, the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium with e-AWD and a standard battery with 224 miles of range starts at $58,975, if you can get one.
VinFast offered a total discount of $6,000 to VinFirst Pioneers to switch to the City Edition, but it's possible that the number of reservation holders forced a change of strategy. Instead of the letter's claim that the model was for early adopters only, VinFast's retail website now displays a pop-up offering a 24-month lease deal to California residents who want the City Edition. With $5,774 at signing, the City Edition Eco will cost $599 per month and offer 10,000 miles annually. 36-month lease offer asking $6,869 down and $574/month. The City Edition Plus requires $6,789 at signing, then costs $699 per month for 24 months with 10,000 miles per year.
Back to the ranges, there may be more questions in the way of series models. On OneFast's US site, the reservation page containing the VF 8 and VF 9's specs also includes asterisks next to their range figures of "up to 292 miles" and "up to 342 miles", respectively. On this page, the explanation given for both is, "The value is correct for the VF 8 Eco Enhanced Range trim level (battery variant 2). The initial values, which conform to the principles of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) standard are determined accordingly.” All of this means that the different numbers VinFast is using here may not be the numbers the EPA uses.
It's early days for the company here, and news cycles change fast. However, we think the local representatives of One Fast will be busy for a while to get everything back on track.