The VinFast VF8 Is Simply Not Ready for America (Jalopnik)
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The electric-car startup brought me to its Vietnam headquarters to drive its first EV meant for the U.S. market. It was the most bizarre experience of my life.
VinFast flew me from Columbus, Ohio, to San Francisco, put me in a really nice hotel for one night, then flew me and at least 100 other journalists, influencers, YouTubers, TikTokers, VinFast reservation holders (called VinFirst), VinFast employees, and other persons of interest from SFO to Vietnam on a chartered plane, all so we could sample the company’s new EVs. We stayed at two private-island resorts and spent a night in Hanoi at the same hotel where Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for the first time.
Vingroup has businesses all over Vietnam. You might buy groceries at VinMart and clothing at VinPlaza. Your family vacations might be at a Disney-style VinWonder theme park, or you might book a grown-up getaway at a VinPearl resort. Your phone might be a VinSmart. Your office might be owned by Vincom Office, your house or apartment building part of VinHomes. Your child could be born at a VinMec hospital, attend VinSchool, and upon graduation, matriculate at the recently-launched VinUniversity. The setup feels like a modern spin on the 19th-century American company town, but it’s not dissimilar to what Samsung and Hyundai did in South Korea in the 1990s.READ MORE
