Vietnam's VinFast recalls first batch of US-bound EVs over security risk

2022 Paris Auto Show

HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is recalling all of the first batch of vehicles it shipped to the United States following a security warning issued by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).    In a statement, the NHTSA said 999 VF8 vehicles suffered a software error in the dashboard display which prevented critical safety information from being shown.

It said that “may increase the risk of a crash”.

The recall statement comes less than two weeks after VinFast announced it would list in the United States via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition Co, with the new entity having an equity value of $23 billion.

In February, VinFast recalled 2,781 VF8 cars sold in the domestic market to check and replace the bolt connecting the front brake caliper to the knuckle.

VinFast, which was founded in 2017 and began selling EVs in California this year, has shipped two batches of VF8 cars to the United States totaling 2,097 units.

It also plans to send its first vehicles to Europe in July.

VinFast confirmed the latest issue and said it “would recall VF 8 (City Edition) units due to MHU display issue,” referring to the media head unit.

In documents filed with the NHTSA, VinFast said it first became aware of the issue on April 27 while reading customer comments and concerns.

According to the safety agency, the problem has been documented 18 times.

The NHTSA said VinFast will introduce a software update that should fix the issue. It is scheduled to go live on May 25 with notification letters being sent out to owners by May 29.

Last month, VinFast said it had received a fresh round of funding pledges worth $2.5 billion from parent Vingroup JSC, Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate, and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam’s first billionaire and richest man.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Sheena K Thomas; Editing by Martin Petty and Christopher Cushing)