VinFast VF 8
Midsize electric SUV · 2022–present. This review has not established this model’s 2024 U.S. sales.
How it began
It was created by VinFast, the carmaker founded in 2017 inside Vingroup, a Vietnamese group that dates from 1993. The start-up was led by Vingroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong. The exterior and interior were designed by the Italian studio Pininfarina; VinFast also credits Torino Design on its VF range. The global launch was led by Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice chair and VinFast global CEO, and Michael Lohscheller, then CEO of VinFast Global.
It was designed with the Italian studio Pininfarina and is built at VinFast's manufacturing complex on Cat Hai Island, Hai Phong, in Vietnam's Red River Delta, a plant with up to 90% automation. VF 8s sold in the U.S. arrive by ship from Vietnam, for example at the Port of Benicia, California. VinFast plans to build it in North Carolina: it signed the agreement in March 2022, broke ground in Moncure, Chatham County, in July 2023, and in July 2024 moved the start of production to 2028.
It debuted as VF e35 at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2021. At CES in January 2022 it was renamed VF 8 and reservations opened. The first 999 City Edition vehicles were exported from Vietnam on November 25, 2022 and arrived at Benicia on December 20. VinFast’s U.S. completed-handover release records the first 45 customer deliveries across California on March 1, 2023; an overseas reprint is dated March 2.
VinFast combines Vin, from Vietnam, with FAST, the initials of four Vietnamese words: Phong cách (style), An toàn (safety), Sáng tạo (creativity) and Tiên phong (pioneer). VF is the brand's initials and the number shows the size: VF 5, 6 and 7 are the smaller ones, and the 8 and 9 the larger. When it was renamed in 2022, VinFast dropped the e from VF e35 to stress that its whole range is electric.
VinFast started with gasoline cars, shown in Paris in 2018, but in January 2022 it announced it would stop building combustion engines by the end of that year and become an all-electric, global brand. The VF 8, a five-passenger midsize electric SUV, was the spearhead of that plan in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It arrived with a 10-year warranty on the vehicle and battery.
Generation by generation
- Gen. 12022–2023 · City Edition
The first 999
Photo: Mliu92 · CC BY-SA 3.0 What changed. It was VinFast's first car in the United States. A limited run of 999 units, exported from Vietnam on November 25, 2022 arriving in Benicia on December 20, with customer deliveries from March 2023 in California. The EPA rated the Eco at 207 miles of range and the Plus at 191 miles. VinFast listed it at $49,000 (Eco) and $56,000 (Plus), before destination. The first drive reviews published in May 2023 by InsideEVs, MotorTrend and Road & Track mainly criticized body control and suspension.
The innovation. A dashboard with almost no buttons: a 15.6-inch central touchscreen and a full-color head-up display on the windshield, plus driver assistance and connected services that update over the air (FOTA). Instead of a gauge cluster behind the wheel, driving information lives on those screens.
If you buy one usedCheck actual VIN eligibility and completed work for selected VF 8 campaigns: 23V355 (999 specified 2023 vehicles) updates display software; 24V369 (225 specified 2022–2024 vehicles) replaces airbags with inactive ignitors; 24V933 (4,888 specified 2023–2025 vehicles) replaces the driver-seat center airbag that can strike the driver’s arm; and 25V559 (6,314 specified 2023–2025 vehicles) updates ADAS steering software. Do not add campaign populations as distinct affected vehicles or actual failures. VinFast’s May 2023 offer let qualified City Edition lessees potentially transition after 12 months; it was conditional historical promotion, not a current guarantee. Verify physical airbag repairs as well as software with VinFast and NHTSA. - Gen. 22023–present · Standard (Eco / Plus)
More miles, lower price
Photo: OWS Photography · CC BY 4.0 What changed. In May 2023 a ship carrying 1,879 Standard VF 8s reached the Port of Benicia, California: 1,098 for the U.S. and 781 for Canada. With a more energy-dense battery chemistry, VinFast announced 264 miles for the Eco and 243 for the Plus, about 55 miles more than the City Edition, and cut prices to $46,000 and $51,800. In its test of the 2024 VF8 Plus, InsideEVs reported better build quality, suspension and software than the City Edition, while still criticizing the ride and some software glitches.
The innovation. An 87.7 kWh usable battery with a more energy-dense chemistry, rated by the EPA for 2025 at 256 miles in the Eco and 235 in the Plus. The Plus makes 402 hp from two motors with all-wheel drive, and VinFast says it charges from 10% to 70% in 31 minutes.
If you buy one usedSelected campaigns 24V369, 24V933 and 25V559 apply to specified VF 8 vehicles; confirm the actual VIN and equipment. NHTSA opened PE24025 on September 10, 2024 with an estimated 3,118 model-year 2023–2024 vehicles and closed it on October 21, 2025 following recall 25V559. That campaign records owner letters mailed October 27, 2025. The agency found no evidence linking one fatal-crash complaint to the LKA behavior reproduced in its tests, while noting that fire damage made the vehicle’s EDR data inaccessible and reserving further assessment. This is a scoped finding, not a guarantee of safety. Confirm recall completion and current software, including separate physical airbag repairs.
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