RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – You can add the prestigious IEEE Spectrum – the magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – to the list of VinFast electric vehicle critics.
In a story about emerging EV companies such as VinFast, which is building an auto plant in Chatham County, Lawrence Ulrich recounted his first-hand experiences of test driving “production-spec” cars:
“The production-spec cars we drove seemed worryingly half-baked and riddled with glitches. A long list of misses included an unsettled ride, chintzy interior materials, fitful build quality, and uncomfortable seats. Wearying road and tire noise spoke to a shortage of sound deadening. Glitchy electronics, including driver-assistance functions, beeped incessantly or sometimes failed to work at all. Following the drive, and a rare firestorm of media criticism over the VF8, company engineers vowed to quickly make changes; including a fast rollout of over-the-air software updates to fix myriad kinks. But for a completely unknown company that hopes to make a good first impression in the United States, VinFast can ill afford any damage to its reputation.”
Other magazines also have been critical of the first VinFast vehicles delivered to the U.S. All were voluntarily recalled by VinFast for one specific head unit item, a VinFast spokesperson said.
Despite the criticism, VinFast is moving ahead with plans for a stock offering that could provide $20 billion or more in capital and thus help fund its U.S. production plans.
Read the full story at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/ev-startups-losing-to-tesla
Note: This story has been corrected to note VinFast’s recall was for “one specific head unit item.”
