- Green SM, a ride-hailing service based in Vietnam, launched a fleet of 500 VinFast VF8 EVs in Los Angeles earlier this week.
- Unlike other popular ride services such as Uber and Lyft, Green SM owns its own fleet and hires and trains full-time drivers.
- L.A. riders can call a car by using the Green SM app, calling the hotline, or hailing a vehicle on the street.
A fleet of cyan-colored electric cars has just hit the streets of Los Angeles, and they’re hoping to make a dent in the city’s ride-hailing sector. Vietnamese company Green SM aims to stand out by offering an entirely electric fleet driven by trained drivers.
This is the first time Green SM has operated in the United States, but the transportation service already has 850 million rides under its belt in parts of Europe and Asia. L.A.’s ride-hailing market is saturated with services like Uber, Lyft, and autonomous vehicles, but Green SM’s approach is uniquely rooted in eco-friendly vehicles driven by trained, full-time drivers.
The company’s fleet is made up of VinFast VF8 EVs. Though VinFast hasn’t gained much traction in the United States since its U.S. debut in 2023, the brand is the most popular automaker in Vietnam. The electric VF8 seats five and, perhaps most importantly for Green SM’s mission, emits zero emissions.
However, a green thumb alone won’t help the company stand out on L.A.’s roads. The other half of the equation, Green SM’s U.S. CEO Hoang Thanh Hang said in a press release, is the company’s quality of service and intentional customer interactions.
Green SM is deploying 500 EVs in L.A. to start out, according to an L.A. Times report. To operate the EVs, 500 full-time drivers have been specially trained by the company. Unlike Lyft or Uber, which hire drivers on a gig-worker model that uses personal vehicles, Green SM trains and provides drivers with a car from the fleet.
L.A. riders can hail a Green SM vehicle by using the app, calling the hotline, or hailing one on the street. Pricing will depend on the time and distance driven. New customers can get 50 percent off their first five rides, as well as a free Green Pass membership, which offers 10 vouchers for 30 percent off rides each month.
Though it’s not the main purpose of the ride service, Green SM will provide an interesting way for people to experience VinFast vehicles, which could help bring awareness to an automaker that has sold well in other countries but hasn’t quite taken off on our shores.
When we drove a 2023 VF8, we had some qualms about the car’s handling, suspension, and fit and finish. VinFast has seemingly cleaned up some of its issues in the newer models that have come to the U.S. since then, but the vehicles still aren’t selling well. Automotive News reported that only 389 VinFast vehicles have been registered in the United States from January to July 2026.
Though VinFast has shown a commitment to building a presence in the United States, Green SM’s services could be a solid temperature check for the company on public perceptions after riding in a VinFast vehicle.
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Alayna Wilkening grew up reading motorsport magazines and following her grandpa around his Chevrolet dealership's showroom floor. In true Hoosier fashion, her first car was a hot pink custom cardboard "Fiero-vette" for her kindergarten Kindy 500 race. She now autocrosses a 1994 Miata with her dad, which she learned to drive the night before her first event. Alayna went to Indiana University and graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in graphic design. As a testament to her great taste in cars, her first real one was a metallic orange 2007 Chevy HHR, which she lovingly called "The Dumptruck."