VinFast Needs To Work On Its Marketing In The USA

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

Raymond Tribdino has done a great job for us covering VinFast for us — its grand ambitions, it struggles, and how it is adapting to try to eventually achieve its vision. One of the company’s biggest challenges and failures has been trying to break into the US market. There are various reasons for that, but I have to emphasize that the company needs to seriously revamp how it’s doing marketing in the United States.

I will say that I love it when I see a VinFast on the road. It’s once in a blue moon, but I will yell to everyone in the car — “It’s a VinFast!” This actually happened a week or two ago. I love seeing any pure EV company or auto company with huge EV ambitions succeed.

But I almost never see marketing for VinFast vehicles, and when I do … I’m not impressed. In particular, the company regularly publishes “press release” on major PR newswires. These PR newswires charge a fortune. CleanTechnica would be set financially if just a tiny fraction of those companies came to us instead (and I do believe they’d get much better real reach). But, anyway, this is what a ton of corporations do and VinFast has followed suit. Aside from just getting lost in the shuffle, though, what VinFast publishes is not a fit at all for those platforms and not very well done. They try to write articles (rather than press releases) about why people should go electric and why VinFast vehicles are a good choice. But the articles are bland (and, again, quite out of place on a newswire service) and I would assume convince almost no one to buy a VinFast EV.

I do like the benefits the “press releases” try to focus on, but it seems to me they are wasting a ton of money going about it all the wrong way — from the platforms they publish these on, to how much they are surely paying for this, to the way the articles are written, to how they are trying to separate themselves from much more successful legacy and EV startup competition.

Below is the full press release from VinFast that I just saw published this morning on Business Wire, stuffed between dozens or hundreds of other press releases. Take a look and let me know what you think.

MARKHAM, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The environmental case for EVs is becoming harder to ignore. Yet the real turning point for many drivers comes when they experience an EV like the VinFast VF 8 for themselves.

For years, the debate around electric vehicles revolved around one question: Are they actually better for the environment?

A new study led by researchers at MIT suggests that debate is largely over. Published in Environmental Research Letters, the study found that battery electric vehicles typically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 60% compared with gasoline-powered vehicles¹. The exact benefit varies depending on factors like local electricity generation, driving habits, and climate, but the overall finding was clear: EVs produce significantly fewer emissions over their lifetime than comparable gas vehicles.

So if the environmental case is getting stronger, why are so many drivers still hesitant to switch?

The answer may simply be good ol’ “inertia”.

Most Canadians have spent years, if not decades, driving gas-powered vehicles. They know how often they need to stop for fuel, what regular maintenance costs, and how their vehicle behaves in winter.

An EV is different, and people naturally have questions about things they haven’t experienced themselves. Will charging be a hassle? How will it perform during a Canadian winter? Can it handle long highway drives? Most importantly, will it actually be enjoyable to live with every day?

For many VinFast VF 8 owners, those questions only fade away after a test drive, not through reading countless reviews or watching videos.

One reason is that driving an EV feels different almost immediately. The first thing that tends to catch drivers off guard is the acceleration. Anyone who has gotten behind the wheel of an EV will know that feeling of being pushed back into the seat when the electric motor delivers torque instantly. Unlike an internal combustion engine, which needs a moment to build power, an EV responds the instant you press the accelerator.

“The VF 8’s instant torque is incredible,” Kapildev V. recalled, adding that the HUD is her “favorite” feature.

But while the acceleration may be what grabs people’s attention first, it is rarely the reason they stay interested.

A flagship product from VinFast, a relatively new player in the automotive industry from Vietnam, the mid-size VF 8 shows some distinctly Asian sensibilities in its approach to comfort, practicality, and family-oriented design. After hooking drivers with its quick response and strong performance, it wins many over with the things they notice every day.

Take the VF 8’s family-friendly features, which fit naturally into many Canadian lifestyles. Heated front and rear seats and a heated steering wheel help make winter mornings more bearable. With 376 litres of space behind the rear seats and up to 1,373 litres with the seats folded, the VF 8 can handle everything from Costco runs and strollers to hockey bags and weekend camping gear without much planning. Meanwhile, on long stretches of Ontario highways, the driver assistance features can help reduce fatigue during long commutes or road trips between cities.

The VF 8’s combination of comfort and usability becomes especially valuable when owners begin taking the vehicle beyond their daily commute.

Ontario owner Milan M. put his VF 8 through a serious test when he completed a roughly 2,000-kilometre round trip from Hamilton to New York City with his daughter. Like many first-time EV owners, he spent part of the journey learning how different charging networks worked and figuring out the best way to plan charging stops.

Or take Sylvain C., who has driven approximately 85,000 kilometres in less than two years. “85,000 km done in almost two years and no regret. I like it.”

Of course, buying any new vehicle involves a degree of trust. That is especially true for drivers considering their first EV. In many cases, comprehensive warranty coverage can help provide the confidence needed to make the switch.

To help make the transition easier, VinFast backs the VF 8 with one of Canada’s longest vehicle warranties: 10 years or 200,000 kilometres for the vehicle and a 10-year unlimited-kilometre battery warranty for non-commercial use. That’s a decade of peace of mind, and a sign of the confidence VinFast has in its product.

The road to widespread EV adoption may still be a long one, but studies suggest the environmental benefits are no longer the main question. The bigger challenge may simply be helping more people become familiar with the technology. And sometimes, that can be as simple as getting them behind the wheel. People can spend months reading reviews, comparing specifications, and weighing pros and cons, but nothing brings everything together quite like firsthand experience.

¹ https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae0c23

You gonna go out and buy a VinFast now?