Vinfast scraps battery rental: new prices

In May last year, Vinfast announced the prices of the first two electric SUVs with which it wants to conquer Europe. However, the introduction has been delayed somewhat, although we learned earlier today that the first VF8s should be delivered to European customers this year. That was reason to take another dive into the configurator of this interesting newcomer, and it was noticed that the pricing of both cars is very different than in the previous message.

There is a reason for this: Vinfast is abolishing the sales model with a mandatory battery subscription. Initially, the idea was that Vinfast customers would rent the battery, just like with Nio, among others. On top of the purchase price, there would be a monthly rental price of 120 or 150 euros, for as long as the car is owned.

Vinfast buyers are now free of these monthly costs in advance, but this of course has consequences for the price. The starting price of the Vinfast VF8 is now €53,900, the larger VF9 costs at least €91,300. That is quite a difference with the ‘old’ prices of €44,350 and €59,200 respectively, but there is also a caveat. Vinfast is also adjusting the delivery range and appears to be removing the ‘small’ battery option in both cases. The Vinfast VF8 is therefore only available with an 87.7 kWh battery, good for a range of 471 kilometers. The Vinfast VF9 makes things even better and comes standard with a 123 kWh battery, good for a range of 594 kilometers.

The configurator still contains a sentence about the battery subscription in the price, but Vinfast assures us that the price is ‘all-inclusive’.

In terms of equipment, there are two levels in both cases: ‘Eco’ and ‘Plus’. The Plus version of the VF8 has, among other things, a panoramic roof, more extensively adjustable and ventilated seats, more interior color options and even more power, namely 408 instead of 353 hp. An important difference with the VF9 is that the ‘Plus’ is available with six ‘captain chairs’ instead of seven normal seats. This car always has 408 hp, which comes from two engines. The prices of both versions of both models can be found below.

There are hardly any separate options according to current practice, but Vinfast does offer an above-average choice in the field of paint colors. Everything except black and white costs extra, but for a reasonable amount you can drive home in a gold, green, red or blue SUV.