Vingroup’s Green SM brings 500 VinFast EV taxis to Los Angeles

Green SM, a ride-hailing firm owned by Vietnam’s Vingroup, has launched an all-electric taxi service in Los Angeles. It starts with 500 VinFast VF 8 SUVs and full-time drivers. The US is its ninth market, and the launch puts more cars from sister company VinFast on US roads.

Green SM, a Vietnamese ride-hailing company, has launched an all-electric taxi service in Los Angeles, its first in North America. It is starting with 500 VinFast VF 8 SUVs, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Green SM and VinFast are both owned by Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest private company. That gives VinFast a new way to get its cars in front of Americans.

The carmaker has struggled in the US. It sold fewer than 400 cars there in the first half of 2026, according to Automotive News, as cited by InsideEVs.

Riders can book through the Green SM app, call a hotline or hail a car on the street, the company said in a statement. New users get half off their first five rides, up to $12 a trip.

The main difference from Uber and Lyft is the drivers. Those apps rely on gig workers, while Green SM hires and trains its own staff full-time, InsideEVs reported. It also owns the cars.

“Our experience across international markets has shown us that the future of electric mobility is not defined by an all-electric fleet alone,” said Hoang Thanh Hang, Green SM’s US chief executive. “It also depends on service quality, well-trained and reliable drivers, and genuine care in every customer interaction.”

Green SM will also face Waymo, whose driverless cars already carry paying riders in the city. Uber is testing self-driving minibuses there too, and is pushing for rules that would keep human drivers on its platform alongside robotaxis.

Founded in 2023, Green SM also operates in Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Kazakhstan, Denmark and the Netherlands. It says it has completed about 850 million rides.