Vietnam’s EV maker VinFast recalls nearly 2,800 units domestically

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is recalling 2,781 of its sports utility model VF8 sold in the domestic market to check and replace the bolt connecting the front brake caliper to the knuckle, the company said on Saturday.

VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the United States where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers. It started to ship its first 999 VF8s in November last year and is planning to deliver them this month.

“Due to a specific component assembly item, the bolt connecting the front caliper to the knuckle may loosen when the vehicle is in operation, potentially reducing the effectiveness of the front brake,” VinFast said in a statement.

The company said it would immediately correct the tightening torque for those 999 VF8s shipped to the United States.

“This is relatively a simple procedure that can be done quickly and will not affect the delivery timeline, which is expected to start by the end of Feb. 2023,” it said.

The company delivered over 4,000 EVs to customers domestically in December, more than half of which were the sports utility VF8 model. It secured 55,000 orders globally as of December last year, of which 12,000 are from the U.S. market.

VinFast said it has not recorded any breakdowns or complaints from customers about the loosen bolt that may cause trouble to the brake.