Green and Smart Mobility (GSM), the Vietnamese ride-hailing company known as Green SM, has launched its all-electric taxi service in Los Angeles, the company announced on October 14, 2026. The service began carrying passengers on October 13 local time. Los Angeles is the company’s ninth market worldwide and its first in North America.
The launch puts a Vietnamese service brand into one of the most contested ride-hailing markets in the world. Its cyan VinFast cars will compete with Uber, Lyft, and a growing fleet of robotaxis. The company says it chose the city as its North American gateway after expanding across Asia and Europe.
A company-owned fleet and employed drivers
Green SM runs a model that differs from the dominant US platforms. The company owns and maintains its vehicles and employs its drivers directly, rather than relying on independent contractors with their own cars. The Los Angeles Times reported that the city’s fleet numbers 500 all-electric vehicles, all of them VinFast VF 8 midsize SUVs.
The VF 8 gives Green SM a single, uniform fleet. The company trains its own drivers and publishes fares and promotions in advance. It groups this approach under a five-point service platform covering vehicle quality, price, drivers, service quality, and the environment.
Passengers in Los Angeles can book through the Green SM app, call a hotline or hail a car on the street. The company is targeting daily city trips, longer journeys and airport transfers.
Launch discounts target first-time riders
To win its first US customers, Green SM is discounting heavily at launch. New users get 50 percent off fares, capped at US$12 per trip, on their first five trips. Registration for the Green Pass membership is free and comes with ten discount codes a month, each worth 30 percent off a fare, capped at US$10.
Hoang Thanh Hang, Green SM’s chief executive for the US market, described the United States as an important milestone for the company. She said Green SM wants to build trust step by step with customers, drivers, and local communities. Its international experience, she added, shows that the future of electric transport depends on service quality and well-trained drivers, not only on the vehicles.
From Vietnam to nine markets in three years
Green SM was founded in Vietnam in 2023 and is controlled by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and his family, according to Reuters. Before Los Angeles, the company operated in Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Kazakhstan, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
The company says it has completed about 850 million trips worldwide, covering nearly 6 billion kilometers. It estimates that running an all-electric fleet has avoided more than 800,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the carbon absorbed by about 36 million trees. These figures are the company’s own.
The Los Angeles entry also serves the wider Vingroup ecosystem. A large, visible fleet of VinFast SUVs on California streets gives the automaker daily exposure in the largest US electric vehicle market. Green SM, meanwhile, builds local operations and recruits and trains local drivers.
Reuters reported in September 2026 that GSM’s expansion into the United States and Europe comes ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing in 2028. Advisers have previously suggested a valuation of around US$20 billion for the listing. Green SM has not confirmed those figures.
Whether Los Angeles riders switch from entrenched local apps will depend on price, coverage, and wait times rather than on the launch itself. But the direction of travel is clear. A ride-hailing brand founded in Hanoi three years ago is now picking up passengers in Los Angeles, with cars built by a Vietnamese automaker.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, Vietnamese electric ride-hailing service launches in Los Angeles; The Business Times, GSM plans US and EU expansion ahead of Hong Kong listing; VietnamBiz, Green SM enters the US market; BNEWS, Green SM launches all-electric taxi service in the United States
