- The second-generation VinFast VF 8 has been officially unveiled in Vietnam.
- The new electric SUV was designed to right all of its predecessor’s wrongs.
- It’s smaller, less powerful, and has a lower-capacity battery than the first generation. But it’s also cheaper.
VinFast’s expansion into North America has been lackluster, to say the least. Its main product, the VF 8 electric crossover, wasn’t exactly a finished product, prompting the journalists who drove it to use words like “Stinks” and “Yikes.”
However, the company’s fortunes have been better overseas, and now the second generation of the VF 8 is here to try and boost VinFast’s sales numbers even further. It’s a smaller car with a smaller battery than before, so the odds seem stacked against it from the get-go, but the Vietnamese automaker has an ace up its sleeve that might save it.
Photo by: VinFast
Compared to the previous model, which is still on sale in the United States, the second-gen VF 8 ditches the Pininfarina-designed body for something that still shouts “VinFast,” but in a smaller package. That’s because the new crossover is 1.9 inches shorter than before, while the wheelbase alone measures 4.3 inches less, leading to less room for the battery.
As a result, the new VinFast VF 8 is powered by a 60-kilowatt-hour pack that’s good for a claimed 311 miles (500 kilometers) on the NEDC cycle, which should translate to around 226 miles on the more stringent EPA cycle. For reference, the current VF 8 has an EPA-rated range of 256 miles, courtesy of an 87.7 kWh pack.
But most of the outgoing model’s problems have to do with the way it drives, and here’s where VinFast claims it did a lot of work to improve the ride and handling. The new car sits on a fresh Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) architecture and uses a revised chassis with frequency-selective dampers front and rear.
Power is provided by a single, front-mounted electric motor that makes 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. That’s at least 121 hp less than the old VF 8, but it’s worth noting that the outgoing model is only offered with dual-motor all-wheel drive, so it’s not exactly a fair comparison.
Inside, the new VF 8 now has two screens instead of just one—a 12.9-inch central touchscreen and a smaller digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. A dual-zone climate control system with air ionization, an eight-speaker sound system, and reclining rear seats come as standard. Adaptive cruise control, highway driving assistance with lane-keeping, and a 360-degree camera are also available.
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Source: VinFast
It’s not a bad-looking car by any means, but its arrival in the U.S. is wrapped in mystery. VinFast debuted the new model in Vietnam, where it costs less than the model it replaces, but it’s unclear if the second-generation VF 8 will ever arrive stateside. The company, which has a handful of dealerships scattered around the country, said it wants to restart construction at its delayed EV factory in North Carolina, which was supposed to assemble VF 8 and VF 9 crossovers starting in 2024.
That was before the state sued the Vietnamese automaker, though, and the original plan never came to fruition, either. VinFast has significantly scaled down its plans for the upcoming facility, slashing the 7,500 potential jobs it promised a few years ago to roughly 1,400. Who knows, if the factory ever becomes a reality, it could assemble the new VF 8, but the company currently doesn’t have a concrete date for the construction restart.