Vietnam confirms recall of nearly 6,000 VinFast electric cars

HANOI — Vietnam's leading electric car manufacturer VinFast has recalled almost 6,000 vehicles after a fault in their indicator system was discovered, the government has confirmed, in a fresh blow to the firm.

The communist state's first homegrown auto maker is hoping to compete with electric vehicle (EV) giants such as Tesla, and is trying to crack the global market.

But VinFast has struggled to convince international drivers its EVs are reliable and high-quality, and earlier this year reported a $2 billion loss for 2023 after missing sales targets.

A total of 5,912 VinFast VF5 Plus will be recalled to replace a combination switch, according to the Vietnam Register, which is under the ministry of transport.

In a statement issued on March 5 and published online on Tuesday, the car body said the recall applied to vehicles made between March and December last year.

Only one vehicle sold was found with the error and did not report any incidents, the statement said.

Tests found a problem with the headlights and indicator when the lights were used in auto mode, "causing danger to the driver and other vehicles on the road", the statement said.

VinFast announced the recall — which only impacted cars made and sold domestically — in February, but was waiting on government approval.

It is the latest stumble for the company, which hit headlines around the world in August after its valuation skyrocketed and then crashed after listing on the Nasdaq in New York.

The firm missed its target of selling up to 50,000 EVs last year, as it only delivered 35,000.