Vietnamese electric automaker VinFast set pricing for a battery-lease program and introduced a partnership with Electrify America for fast-charging on its national network.
VinFast, which started making gasoline cars in 2019 and delivered its first EV last year, is showing three electric crossovers at the New York auto show. The automaker is targeting initial sales of the midsize VF 8 two-row crossover and the larger VF 9 three-row crossover in the U.S. by the end of the year.
The young automaker is introducing a battery-lease model in the U.S. to make its vehicles more accessible. VinFast will sell vehicles without the battery pack included in the price, and then lease the battery for a monthly fee based on miles traveled.
For drivers who don't rack up a lot of miles, VinFast is offering a flexible plan with a monthly subscription of $35 for the VF 8 and $44 for the VF 9. The price includes 310 miles of use each month. After that limit is reached, VinFast will charge 11 cents per extra mile for the VF 8 and 15 cents for the VF 9.
For unlimited miles, a fixed lease plan will cost $110 per month for the VF 8 and $160 per month for the VF 9. To encourage consumer orders this year, VinFast will freeze the monthly cost of the fixed plan over the vehicle's lifetime and the fixed price will transfer to a new owner, the automaker said.