Remember when some Wall Street bozos thought VinFast, maker of one of the worst-reviewed cars, was worth more than America’s Big Three automakers combined? It wasn’t all that long ago and the brand had some pretty lofty goals for selling in the American market. Let’s see how things are progressing.
Currently, VinFast only offers one model for sale the VF8 crossover, which is not a good car by any metric. More models have been promised like a sub- $20,000 crossover and a pickup truck, but as of now, it’s a single-car brand. According to Autotrader.com, there are about 160 new and around 3 pre-owned units listed for sale in the entire country. While that is a bit better than the 100 units of now-defunct Fisker Ocean, it’s just a tad bit off the mark on the tens of thousands of units the brand targeted to sell. VinFast sells more cars on the global market, but it mostly sells them to itself.
That being said, if you are the adventurous type of buyer in the market for a mid-size five-seat EV crossover and don’t find the current offerings like the Chevy Blazer, Cadillac Lyric, Mustang Mach-E, VW ID 4 interesting and/or you want a steal of a lease deal. Depending on your market, you can possibly lease one for under$200 a month. This is even cheaper than the rock-bottom VF-8 lease offered earlier this year.
Details below from a Florida Vinfast store –
Valid on a new 2024 VinFast VF 8 Eco. Monthly lease payments of $199 per month for 36 months are based on an adjusted capitalized cost of $30,651 (MSRP of $47,200, including destination and handling fee of $1,200, less $7,500 in Lease Tax Incentive, $8,050 in lease cash discount, $0 in down payment and $0 security deposit). Actual MSRP depending on the build, may vary and could affect your monthly lease payment. Cash due at signing includes $249 first month’s payment, $695 acquisition fee, $0 in down payment, and $0 security deposit.
This works out to a total lease cost of about $8,100 over three years (not including tax) for a $47,000 car. That’s a pretty good deal if you consider how hard it is to find a decent used car for eight grand, but I am still baffled on how an automaker makes a business model around this kind of pricing.
As for how all this success has translated into stock prices, I’m no financial expert but I was a bit suspicious when Vinfast debuted its IPO and was trading at a peak $68 per share. A little over a year later shares are well under $4. Surprisingly, VinFast stock is performing better than Lucid.
Perhaps 2025 will be a better year for the Vietnamese automaker. But at a time when an established automaker like Nissan is holding on by a thread, and more respectable EV startups are still finding their footing, it’s going to be a long road ahead for Vinfast.
Tom McParland is a contributing writer for Jalopnik and runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the hassle out of buying or leasing a car. Got a car buying question? Send it to [email protected]