Green SM Launches Los Angeles Electric Taxi Service With VinFast VF 8s
Illustrative archive: a VinFast VF 8 at the New York auto show, April 20, 2022—not Green SM’s Los Angeles fleet or a confirmed 2026 model. Photo: Kevauto / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Green SM has entered Los Angeles with an electric taxi service using VinFast VF 8 vehicles. The operator says bookings began on October 13, 2026; its launch announcement, posted October 15, identifies the city as its first North American market and ninth market globally.
This is a driver-operated service, not an announcement of autonomous taxis. Green SM describes a selected and trained professional driver team and says it will continue recruiting and building local operations.
How the service is being introduced
According to the operator, Los Angeles customers can request rides through its app, through its hotline or by street hail. The announcement describes everyday journeys, longer trips and airport transfers as intended uses. It does not establish that a car will be immediately available at every address or that every airport pickup location is served.
For launch promotions, Green SM advertises half-price fares on a new customer’s first five rides, capped at a $12 discount per trip. The cap matters: “50% off” does not mean half off any fare regardless of size. The announcement does not give an end date, so riders should check the offer and final fare in the booking flow rather than assume the promotion remains available indefinitely.
What the launch does—and does not—show
The announcement puts VinFast vehicles into a new commercial passenger-service setting. For readers following EV adoption, the useful distinction is between selling a vehicle to an individual and operating a fleet that must repeatedly carry paying customers.
Claims in the operator’s release about ride quality, dependability, safety and environmental benefits are company claims. Chiefs Review has not ridden in or independently evaluated the service. An electric fleet also should not be read as proof of zero emissions across vehicle manufacture and electricity production.
The verified rollout is in Los Angeles, not a nationwide service launch. Our EVs & Hybrids and Industry News sections track the wider business of electrified transport.
Image credit: Illustrative archive: a VinFast VF 8 at the New York auto show, April 20, 2022—not Green SM’s Los Angeles fleet or a confirmed 2026 model. Photo: Kevauto / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.