VinFast’s New VF 8 Got Smaller, Slower, And Cheaper All At Once

VinFast has pulled the covers off the second-generation VF 8 in Vietnam, arriving five years after the Pininfarina-designed original. The replacement is physically smaller than the car it succeeds, and on paper it gives up both range and power in the process.

Visually, the highlight is the aggressive face that looks like a comic book villain’s helmet. V-shaped LEDs flank a gloss-black enclosed grille and slim side inlets, with a similar treatment at the rear. The profile carries a rising window line reminiscent of the Peugeot 2008 and Alfa Romeo Junior, paired with aero-friendly 19-inch wheels and toned rear shoulders.

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Most automakers use a generational reset to add length. VinFast went the other way. The new VF 8 measures 4,701 mm (185.1 inches) nose to tail, 49 mm (1.9 inches) shorter than the outgoing car. The bigger change is underneath, where the wheelbase has been cut by 110 mm (4.3 inches) to 2,840 mm (111.8 inches).

Inside, the cabin sticks with a five-seat layout and trims the button count even further. Drivers now do most of their work through a 12.9-inch infotainment display, down from the 15.6-inch unit in the old car. A digital instrument cluster joins the party for the first time, paired with a two-spoke steering wheel. Standard kit runs to dual-zone climate, an eight-speaker stereo, and a full ADAS suite.

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Under the fresh sheet metal lies a new architecture built around a Software Defined Vehicle electrical layout. Drive comes from a single front-mounted electric motor making 228 hp (170 kW / 231 PS), fed by a 60.13 kWh battery good for a claimed 500 km (311 miles). That figure rides on the NEDC cycle, which has never been accused of pessimism.

These specs represent a downgrade compared to the previous VF 8 that produced up to 402 hp (300 kW / 408 PS) in dual-motor AWD guise and featured a much larger 87.7 kWh battery pack.

It Costs Nearly 1 Billion Vietnamese Dongs

Vinfast will start accepting pre-orders for the VF 8 in Vietnam on May 27, with the first deliveries scheduled for late July. The electric SUV is priced from 999 million Vietnamese dong, which sounds like a lot until you run it through a converter and land at roughly $37,900 at today’s exchange rate. That’s actually a step down from the previous-generation VF 8, which started at VND 1.019 billion ($38,700) for the Eco trim and climbed to VND 1.199 billion ($45,500) for the Plus in its home market.

Whether the new VF 8 leaves Vietnam is the bigger question, and the company is not yet saying. Export plans are unconfirmed, and there is a real possibility the second-generation car follows a different playbook than the first.

That matters because the original VF 8 was supposed to be the car that planted VinFast’s flag in America, something it did not. Fewer than 1,500 examples found U.S. buyers last year, and yet VinFast is pressing on with its North Carolina factory, with domestic EV production targeted for 2028. Globally the picture is brighter. The company posted a record 196,919 deliveries in 2025

Vinfast