A Case For Choosing Vinfast VF 9 Over R1S?

[R1Sky Business]

I'm waiting to see if Nio will ever start selling in the US. There's been reports of Nio testing vehicles on the west coast. Their battery swap station model is rather intriguing - being able to purchase a vehicle with a smaller battery and "rent" a larger battery as needed is a very cool platform to be part of.

Probably not anytime soon....get it?

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[R1Sky Business]

Out of all the EV reservations/deposits I have put down, the VF9 was the only one I’ve asked for a refund on.

How did that go?

 

[R1Sky Business]

Besides the one time I interacted with a Ford employee driving the pre-production Lightning, the VinFast people have been the least interested in talking to me (possible the Ford guy didn't realize the Polestar 2 is an EV)

The first time I met someone from Lordstown, they let me look all over the truck and even under the hood. Second guy I interacted with let me sit in the driver's seat.

Where was this?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Where was this?

Marathon station in Romeo, MI. I saw one of them again last week (this photo was months ago) but I didn't bother stopping.

 

[R1Sky Business]

There is a Vinfast showroom near me. My wife and I sat in the car, poked around a little, and left.

As soon as we left the showroom, my wife said it looked and felt cheap and was more sold on our forthcoming R1S.

Your wife has excellent taste sir

 

[ads75]

I would have a tough time trusting a new company to indefinitely provide battery rentals (well, for 5-7 years, since that’s how long I typically own for). It sounds like swapping batteries would be faster than charging on a road trip, but realistically, how many battery swap stations will they have, and how long to build out that network? If someone thinks a charging network build out is slow, I would expect even less from a manufacturer specific battery swap station.

 

[connoisseurr]

Probably not anytime soon....get it?

Oh, no time soon, for sure. I think the earliest would be 2026, and that also depends on who's in office

 

[Dark-Fx]

I would have a tough time trusting a new company to indefinitely provide battery rentals (well, for 5-7 years, since that’s how long I typically own for). It sounds like swapping batteries would be faster than charging on a road trip, but realistically, how many battery swap stations will they have, and how long to build out that network? If someone thinks a charging network build out is slow, I would expect even less from a manufacturer specific battery swap station.

That made me think of another potential weird situation. What happens to the battery if VinFast goes under? Will your rental battery belong to the creditors? What if they want it back?

 

[SolartoEV]

Long read but seems to explain the situation well

Spend lots of money convincing people its a good car rather than just making a good car

https://jalopnik.com/vinfast-vf8-electric-car-first-drive-not-ready-for-u-s-1849892217

 

[krockett]

How did that go?

Got the money back ?

 

[R1Sky Business]

Got the money back ?

No drama?

 

[camaroz1985]

Out of all the EV reservations/deposits I have put down, the VF9 was the only one I’ve asked for a refund on.

Did the same. Originally it was because of the service/delivery location restrictions, but seeing the quality of these, I'm glad I did. The Volvo EX90 is the leader in the clubhouse for my wife now.

 

[krockett]

No drama?

None at all, process was done online, received an email confirmation of the request, received funds in my CC a few days later.

 

[ads75]

That made me think of another potential weird situation. What happens to the battery if VinFast goes under? Will your rental battery belong to the creditors? What if they want it back?

What if Vinfast or whoever owns the battery decide to increase the rental rate? Or are they rental rates "locked" ?

 

[NY_Rob]

What if Vinfast or whoever owns the battery decide to increase the rental rate? Or are they rental rates "locked" ?

I guess you would have to examine the rental agreement very closely, but generally rental rates are locked for the term unless otherwise noted.

The whole "battery Rental" thing just has bad news written all over it...

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