Vinfast is moving fast, sorta. For a company that still doesn’t have any cars to sell, it’s behaving as if it has inventory. From dealerships that are open for business with near-empty showrooms, to plans for production facilities in the U.S., the manufacturer appears fairly eager. Monday, Vinfast announced the company will give customers a $7,500 rebate if they did not qualify for the Federal Tax Credit, Autoblog reports. Of course there’s a catch. To get that chunk of rebate cash, you have to first contractually agree to buy their vehicle.
The government wants to get people behind the wheel of EVs. And automakers want the government to help get people behind the wheel in the form of enticing tax credits that go towards the vehicle’s purchase. The problem is that recent changes by Congress and price increases by automakers leave out a lot of vehicles that won’t qualify for the credit. But don’t worry, Vinfast has got customers’ backs.
If you’re one of the lucky few who has a preorder for a VF8 or VF9 EV crossover and you can’t get the tax credit, they’ll give you a $7,500 rebate. An email sent to pre-order customers says, “VinFast is a brand that not only stands behind our vehicles with our 10-year/125,000-mile warranty but more importantly, we stand behind our customers!” Vinfast also notes, “For customers who apply for the $7,500 tax credit under current IRC 30D requirements and are denied by the IRS for reasons not attributable to the customer, VinFast will provide the customer a $7,500 purchase price rebate (or similar rebate) on their VinFast vehicle purchase. The binding agreement contains additional details on eligibility for the rebate” a company spokesperson told Autoblog.
That $7,500 rebate is available to you, if you agree to sign a few things. Vinfast customers will first have to change their non-binding preorder into a full-on binding contract. That $200 refundable deposit, then becomes nonrefundable. The contract you sign has an option that allows the customer to attempt to get the tax credit from the Feds. If that attempt fails, you receive Vinfast’s rebate.
But what if you are able to get the credit? You likely won’t be receiving a rebate from Vinfast. But what about the contract you originally signed, for the $7,500? Does it become void? Or what if the car doesn’t come through?
I reached out to Vinfast for further clarification and will update this post if/when they reply.