VinFast vows to stay in the US after selling just 389 EVs
Three new California and Pennsylvania dealers, a factory pushed to 2028 and $20,000 discounts sketch the reality behind the Vietnamese EV brand’s pledge.
By
Keisha Holloway
VinFast North America CEO Brian Finnerty says the Vietnamese electric brand remains committed to the US for the long term, even after a sales tally that barely registers.
In brief
- VinFast sold 389 vehicles in the US from January through September 2026.
- Average incentives reach $19,000 on the VF 8 and $20,000 on the VF 9.
- New dealers with sales and service are coming in Tustin, Redondo Beach and Philadelphia.
- The North Carolina plant, first due in 2024, has slipped to 2028.
That pledge, reported by CarBuzz, arrives with a handful of new service points and a reminder of how difficult the company’s American adventure has been so far. For anyone eyeing a VF 8 or VF 9, or holding out for the smaller VF 7, the details matter more than the promise.
A launch that went wrong from the first drive
VinFast was founded five years before it entered the American market in late 2022, and its first US vehicle debuted in 2023. According to CarBuzz, that debut did not go well. Journalists invited to drive the cars encountered questionable build quality, glitches in the electrical system and problems with ride quality. Since then, the brand has moved very few vehicles in the country.
The timing has not helped either. VinFast builds only electric vehicles, and CarBuzz notes it is doing so while major automakers are trimming their EV lineups in response to weaker demand. Finnerty frames the next stage differently:
“Our vision is clear: VinFast is continuing to build for the next phase of growth by investing in the customer experience, strengthening our team, continuously enhancing our products, policies, and sales and service network.”
Brian Finnerty, CEO of VinFast North America
How small VinFast’s US footprint really is
Those 389 units cover three full quarters, not a single month. The discounts tell the same story: buyers shopping a VF 8 or VF 9 are being offered sums that would pay for a sizable share of many new cars.
Distribution has grown slowly. Sales of the all-electric SUVs started in California before spreading to other states over 2024 and 2025. Yet when 2025 closed, VinFast counted only somewhere in the early twenties of US dealerships, too few to put even one store in half of the states.
| Point of comparison | VinFast | Hyundai |
|---|---|---|
| US market entry | Late 2022 | 1986 |
| Company age at entry | Five years | Nearly 20 years |
| First-year result | Struggled to attract buyers | Record first-year US sales |
CarBuzz describes Hyundai as the last new automaker from outside the US to enter the mainstream market here, which makes it the natural yardstick.
What changes for buyers in 2026
The most tangible news concerns service. VinFast is finalizing agreements for dealerships offering both sales and service support in Tustin and Redondo Beach, California, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Finnerty says the goal is local access: “These new dealerships will ensure customers can access comprehensive sales, maintenance, and warranty support right in their local communities.”
Domestic production is further away than once planned. The North Carolina factory, partly financed by $1.2 billion in state and county incentives, was supposed to begin building vehicles in 2024. That start has now been pushed back to 2028.
The next model on the schedule is the VF 7, a compact electric crossover. VinFast quotes 268 miles of range from its 75.3-kWh battery, a smaller package than the VF 8 and VF 9 SUVs currently sold, and those shopping for future electric vehicle trends will find it squarely in the crowded compact segment.
Featured image. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Danilo Bargen. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
