Green SM, the Vietnamese electric ride-hailing operator and VinFast affiliate, has begun running electric taxis in the United States, starting in Los Angeles on 13 October. The US becomes the company's ninth market globally, following its entry into Europe a little over a month earlier.
Riders can book through Green SM's mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Play, or through the company's hotline, and can also hail a taxi on the street.
For the launch, Green SM is offering a 50 per cent discount capped at 12 dollars per ride on a customer's first five trips. It is also providing a complimentary Green Pass membership that includes ten vouchers, each giving a 30 per cent discount capped at ten dollars per ride.
Hoang Thanh Hang, CEO of Green SM in the US, framed the market entry as an important milestone in the company's growth. She said Green SM is not simply expanding into a new market but aims to build trust with customers, drivers and local communities "one journey at a time".
In the US the company uses only cars, whereas in its Asian markets it operates both electric scooters and cars. Its Los Angeles fleet consists solely of the VinFast VF 8, a mid-size SUV and the most affordable VinFast model in the US, priced from 39,900 dollars.
VinFast sells the VF 8 in the US in two dual-motor all-wheel-drive variants. One produces 260 kW and 500 Nm of torque; the other delivers 300 kW and 620 Nm. Both use an 87.7 kWh NMC battery pack, which the US Environmental Protection Agency rates at 256 miles of range for the former and 235 miles for the latter. Green SM has not disclosed which configuration its fleet uses, or whether it uses both.
Green SM was founded in 2023 by Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of VinFast's parent company Vingroup. The company operates exclusively with VinFast electric vehicles and says it has provided around 850 million rides covering nearly six billion kilometres to date.
Beyond the US, Green SM offers its electric ride-hailing service in India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and the Philippines in Asia, and in Denmark and the Netherlands in Europe. The US launch extends a footprint that now spans Asia, Europe and North America.