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As U.S. car shoppers look beyond the sticker price, energy cost saving is playing a bigger role in their purchasing decisions. VinFast's new Energy Cost Saving calculator taps into that shift, giving American drivers a clearer picture of how energy, maintenance, and other ownership costs contribute to an EV's value over time.
Consider two cars on a dealer lot. Car A costs $30,000 and runs on gas. Car B costs $31,000 but saves its owner $1,000 in fuel over five years. The choice seems simple: pay $1,000 more upfront, get it back later, and you break even.
But buyers don't always run the numbers that way.
A National Bureau of Economic Research study of 1.6 million vehicle purchases found that buyers place noticeably less value on future fuel savings than on money spent today. At a 4% discount rate, consumers were willing to pay an extra 15 to 38 cents upfront for every $1 of fuel savings down the road.
While the finding wasn't specific to EVs, automakers should take note. Buyers tend to see a higher EV price today in bold, unmissable numbers, while lower energy and maintenance costs trickle in quietly over years. That's a challenge for electrification: the savings are real, but they're competing with a price tag demanding attention right now.
Energy Cost Saving, or ECS, changes the equation. Rather than asking "How much does this car cost?" buyers can ask a more meaningful question: "What will it actually cost to own over time once fuel, maintenance, insurance, and other expenses are factored in?"
In a study of 3,199 U.S. consumers, showing five-year fuel savings alone didn't shift vehicle preferences. But adding full ECS information increased stated preference for hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles in the small and midsize segments.
A world away, a 2026 study of 716 consumers in major Vietnamese cities found that fuel and maintenance cost information made buyers 14.3% more likely to choose an EV over a gas car. ECS information specifically added another 4.5% on top of that. For electric motorcycles, the effects were even larger, 28.3% and 17.1%, respectively.
To boost EV adoption, the Vietnamese research team concluded that "policymakers and industry stakeholders should focus on consumer education and promulgate additional EV-related information that highlights the true ownership costs and financial benefits of EVs." They added that cost-benefit information should be prominently featured on manufacturer and retailer websites, helping consumers make smarter, more informed decisions.
Several automakers are moving in this direction, and Vietnamese automaker VinFast (NASDAQ: VFS) has added an interactive ECS calculator to its U.S. digital sales toolkit. The tool lets shoppers enter an ownership period and monthly mileage, then compares estimated energy costs with those of a comparable gas-powered vehicle.
Take a U.S. driver putting about 2,000 miles a month on a VF 8 Eco over five years. The calculator estimates energy costs of roughly $7,811, compared with $18,528 for a similar gas SUV, about $130 a month for the VF 8 versus $309 a month at the pump, or roughly 58% lower energy costs.
The goal isn't to turn every EV purchase into a mathematical victory lap. It's about putting ownership costs alongside the purchase price, so American drivers with different driving habits can see the full picture. A commuter putting 20,000 miles a year on a car and charging mostly at home faces a very different ownership equation than someone driving less and relying on public charging. The cheapest car to buy and the cheapest car to own aren't always the same car, and ECS tools help buyers tell the difference.
In the U.S., VinFast has introduced the VF 8 (D-SUV) and VF 9 (E-SUV) with a clear goal: well-equipped EVs at accessible prices, backed by strong ownership and after-sales support. Attractive leasing options are designed to make electric mobility more accessible to a broader range of American drivers, lowering the barrier to EV adoption.
At the same time, VinFast continues expanding its U.S. dealer network, bringing sales and service closer to customers for a more convenient ownership experience. By investing in both its products and its support infrastructure, the company is laying the groundwork for long-term growth and lasting success in the U.S. market.
Sources: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25845
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856414002912
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421526003046#sec18
About VinFast
VinFast (NASDAQ: VFS), a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates, is a pure-play electric vehicle ("EV") company with the mission of making EVs accessible to everyone. VinFast's product lineup today includes a wide range of electric SUVs, e-scooters, and e-buses.
VinFast is currently embarking on its next growth phase through rapid expansion of its distribution and dealership network globally while expanding its production footprint with a focus on key markets across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Learn more at: https://vinfastauto.us/ and https://vinfastauto.us/energy-cost-savings-calculator
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SOURCE VinFast
