© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A VinFast VF 8 model during a car handover ceremony at the VinFast car factory in Haiphong province, Vietnam, September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Thinh Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is recalling 2,781 of its domestically sold VF8 sport utility model to overhaul and replace the bolt connecting the front brake caliper to the knuckle, the company said on Saturday.
VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is preparing to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers. It started shipping its first 999 VF8s in November last year and plans to deliver them this month.
“Due to a specific component assembly element, the bolt that connects the front caliper to the knuckle can become loose when the vehicle is in operation, which could reduce the effectiveness of the front brake,” VinFast said in a statement.
The company said it would immediately correct the torque on 999 VF8s shipped to the United States.
“This is a relatively simple procedure that can be done quickly and will not affect the delivery schedule, which is expected to start at the end of February 2023,” he said.
The company delivered more than 4,000 electric vehicles to customers nationwide in December, more than half of which were the VF8 sport utility model. It won 55,000 orders globally as of December last year, of which 12,000 are from the US market.
VinFast said it hasn’t recorded any breakdowns or customer complaints about the loose bolt causing brake problems.