Green SM, the Vietnamese electric ride-hailing provider and VinFast affiliate, has expanded into North America, beginning with the United States. It deployed its first electric taxis in Los Angeles, California, on 13 October, a little over a month after entering Europe. The US is the ninth market worldwide for the service.
Customers can book rides through Green SM's mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Play, or through more traditional options such as calling the company's hotline or hailing a taxi directly on the street.
As a launch promotion, Green SM is giving customers a 50 per cent discount, capped at 12 US dollars per ride, on their first five trips. Alongside this, the company is offering a complimentary Green Pass membership, which provides customers with ten vouchers. Each voucher gives a 30 per cent discount capped at ten dollars per ride.
Commenting on the entry into the new market, Hoang Thanh Hang, the CEO of Green SM in the US, described the move as a milestone in the company's growth. “The United States represents an important milestone in Green SM's growth journey,” Hang said. “We are not simply expanding into a new market. We aim to build trust with customers, drivers and local communities, one journey at a time.”
In Asian markets, Green SM operates both electric scooters and cars, but in the US it is using cars only. Its Los Angeles fleet is made up exclusively of VinFast's VF 8, a mid-size SUV and the most affordable model from the brand in the US, priced from 39,900 dollars.
VinFast offers the VF 8 in the US in two dual-motor all-wheel-drive variants: one with 260 kW and 500 Nm of torque, and one with 300 kW and 620 Nm. Both are equipped with an 87.7 kWh NMC battery pack. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the first variant delivers a range of 256 miles, while the second delivers 235 miles. Green SM has not disclosed which configuration it has chosen for its fleet, 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. In addition to the US, it offers its electric ride-hailing service in India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and the Philippines in Asia, as well as in Denmark and the Netherlands in Europe.