Tesla Price Cuts Continue To Bite? Vietnamese EV Startup Lowers Lease Price For 1st Model Shipped To US

Vietnam-based electric vehicle maker VinFast lowered the lease price of its VF 8 City Edition, the first model shipped to the U.S., for new customers in California, by about 50%.

What happened: VinFast said that customers could lease a VF 8 City Edition starting at $399 per month for two years., with deliveries starting this week.

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The new lease price represents a reduction of 33% to 54% from the originally stated monthly lease price of $599 for 24 months, according to Reuters.

Why is it important: The change in lease pricing is deemed to be an attempt to compete with other EV makers such as Tesla Inc. TSLA. Tesla slashed its vehicle prices in the U.S. in January amid a slowdown in demand, with the cuts ranging from 6.4% to 19.7%.

Earlier this month, VinFast announced that it chose U.S. Bank as preferred provider of retail financing and leasing in the U.S. It further consolidated its Canadian and U.S. management operations into a single unit called VinFast North America in a bid to improve operational performance last month.

VinFast filed for its initial public offering in the U.S. soon after shipping the first batch of electric vehicles in November. The company said it intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "VFS."

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