VinFast has confirmed it is on track to begin Canadian deliveries in June as the first batch of VF 8 SUVs arrived at the Port of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, BC on Tuesday. The Vietnamese automaker said on Wednesday the VF 8 has received the necessary approvals and is now certified for sale from Transport Canada.
As we reported on Twitter yesterday, the electric SUVs arrived at the Vancouver Island port in the early morning hours, where 781 of the electric SUVs were offloaded. The vehicles were part of an original shipment of 1,879 VF 8 SUVs that left Vietnam on April 16. Prior to its arrival in Canada the cargo ship Silver Queen offloaded 1,089 SUVs in California on May 12.
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“Today VinFast has taken another big step in its mission to foster the global electrification revolution. I believe with VinFast’s non-stop efforts together with its serious and methodical business strategy, VinFast will soon gain the trust and support from Canadian customers,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Van Anh, CEO of VinFast North America.
How successful and popular the VF 8 will be in Canada remains to be seen, but it seems like it will be an uphill battle to gain any sort of market traction based on the early reviews of the electric SUV that were published last week. Seasoned journalists were shocked at how poorly the SUV performed during their driving tests, with even basic functions like the turn signals not functioning correctly.
In Canada the VF 8 starts at $53,600 for the Eco model, while the Plus model has a starting price of $59,200. The EV has an estimated range of between 354km (220 miles) to 425km (264 miles).
