Vietnam’s electric-mobility experiment is preparing for a much bigger test. Green and Smart Mobility, better known internationally as Green SM, has outlined plans to deploy electric taxi fleets in the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands before the end of 2026, followed by additional European markets in 2027. The company has already established operations across parts of Asia and entered Europe through Copenhagen this summer.
What makes the expansion unusual is Green SM’s close relationship with VinFast. The mobility company operates exclusively with VinFast electric vehicles, effectively turning thousands of everyday taxi rides into rolling demonstrations of the Vietnamese automaker’s products. Yet one market is conspicuously absent from the newly disclosed expansion schedule: Canada. VinFast already sells vehicles and operates retail locations in several Canadian provinces, but Green SM has announced no comparable Canadian launch.
Green SM Is Moving From Regional Player to Global Challenger
Green SM’s next expansion phase is unusually ambitious for a company that began operating only in 2023. The company plans to establish fleets in the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands before the end of 2026, followed by additional European markets in 2027. Those plans come only weeks after Green SM formally launched taxi operations in Copenhagen, its first European city. Denmark therefore appears to be functioning as an early proving ground for the company’s broader European ambitions.
The expansion is tied to a much larger corporate objective. Green SM has confirmed that it is preparing for a potential Hong Kong initial public offering in 2028. Moving into major Western markets beforehand could give prospective investors evidence that its electric-taxi model can operate outside Southeast Asia. But the challenge changes dramatically once a mobility company enters mature markets. Regulations, labour costs, insurance, charging infrastructure and customer expectations differ sharply from Vietnam, making the U.S. and European launches more than simple geographic additions.
The VinFast Connection Is Central to the Entire Business Model
Green SM is not simply another ride-hailing application that happens to use electric cars. It was founded by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, the founder of Vingroup and chief executive of VinFast, and its fleets have been built around VinFast vehicles. That relationship gives VinFast something most young automakers lack: a large affiliated customer capable of ordering vehicles in substantial volumes and putting them immediately into intensive daily service.
VinFast’s regulatory filings show just how important that relationship has become. By the end of 2025, VinFast had delivered approximately 98,741 electric vehicles to Green SM and its subsidiaries since their commercial relationship began in 2023. Revenue from sales to Green SM and its subsidiaries reached roughly US$871 million in 2025. The two companies deepened the arrangement again in May 2026, signing a framework under which VinFast could supply approximately one million EVs and four million electric scooters to Green SM between 2026 and 2030.
Rapid Growth in Vietnam Gave Green SM Its Launching Pad
Green SM has expanded at a pace rarely seen in the taxi industry. In Vietnam’s four-wheel ride-hailing market, research cited by Vietnamese media put Green SM’s share of gross transaction value at 51.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, ahead of Grab at 42.64%. That measurement covers the four-wheel segment rather than Vietnam’s entire mobility market, where motorcycles remain enormously important, but it illustrates how quickly the company became a serious competitor.
The scale of operations has also produced striking company-reported numbers. Green SM said earlier in 2026 that its electric vehicles had accumulated more than 4.2 billion kilometres of electric journeys across its operations and that the platform was handling an average of about 1.8 million trips per day as of March 31. Those figures should be viewed as corporate disclosures rather than independently audited market statistics, but they explain why Green SM increasingly describes itself as an international mobility company rather than a Vietnamese taxi operator.
Its Taxi Model Looks Very Different From Uber’s
A Green SM vehicle can resemble an ordinary app-booked taxi from the passenger seat, but the economics underneath have historically been quite different. Companies such as Uber built enormous networks largely by connecting independent drivers and their vehicles to a digital marketplace. Green SM initially leaned much more heavily on directly controlled fleets and employed drivers, giving the company greater influence over vehicle condition, driver training and customer experience.
That control comes at a price. Cars must be purchased, charged, insured, cleaned, repaired and eventually replaced, while employed drivers create costs even when utilization falls. Green SM has therefore been moving toward a hybrid structure in Vietnam. The company has said roughly 40% of vehicles operating on its Vietnamese platform are company-owned, with independent participants becoming increasingly important. For its initial U.S. and European launches, however, Green SM intends to begin with company-owned vehicles and employed drivers before potentially introducing a broader platform model later.
Green SM Has Already Been Experimenting With Different Expansion Models
The company’s recent moves show that there is no single Green SM formula. In Indonesia and the Philippines, it expanded its platform in April 2026 so owners and renters of VinFast vehicles could register as service partners. In the Philippines, Green SM subsequently announced agreements involving 75 transportation companies and cooperatives that could support the deployment of as many as 18,497 VinFast EVs across cities including Manila, Cebu and Davao.
Europe has started differently. When Green SM launched in Copenhagen in July, it said it would directly own and manage the fleet while overseeing driver operations. The Danish vehicles include VinFast VF 6 and VF 8 models, allowing Green SM to control the service closely while learning how European regulations and passengers respond. This flexibility matters. A capital-heavy company-owned fleet can establish consistency, while a partner-driven platform can scale with less balance-sheet pressure. Green SM is increasingly attempting to combine both approaches depending on the market.
The United States Could Be Its Toughest Expansion Yet
Entering the United States will place Green SM inside one of the world’s most sophisticated and competitive mobility markets. Ride-hailing is already deeply established, while autonomous taxi services are increasingly becoming part of the competitive landscape. A newcomer must therefore persuade passengers to install another application while simultaneously recruiting drivers, creating charging arrangements and building enough vehicle density that customers are not left waiting.
The U.S. electric-car environment is also less straightforward than it was several years ago. International Energy Agency data show that approximately 1.5 million electric cars were sold in the United States in 2025, representing just under 10% of new-car sales. Sales weakened sharply late in the year after federal purchase tax credits ended. VinFast itself has had a difficult American expansion: construction of its planned North Carolina factory was paused, and a sizeable impairment related to the delayed project was recorded in 2025. Green SM is therefore entering a market where its affiliated automaker has yet to establish the scale it enjoys at home.
Europe Offers Stronger EV Momentum, but Competition Is Intense
Europe presents a different opportunity. Electric vehicles are already far more deeply embedded in the region’s new-car market than in the United States. The International Energy Agency estimated that electric cars represented about 28% of European new-car sales in 2025. During the first half of 2026, battery-electric vehicles alone accounted for 20.7% of European Union registrations, up from 15.6% a year earlier.
That environment could make an all-electric taxi brand easier for passengers and regulators to understand, but it does not guarantee commercial success. Europe already has established taxi companies, ride-hailing platforms and increasingly competitive EV fleets. Green SM’s Copenhagen launch offers an early glimpse of its strategy: locally trained drivers, transparent pre-trip fares and a directly managed VinFast fleet. Sweden and the Netherlands will provide bigger tests of whether that service model can travel. Green SM will need to compete on reliability and price rather than relying solely on its environmental positioning.
Canada’s Absence Stands Out Because VinFast Is Already Here
Canada is not included among Green SM’s announced U.S. and European destinations. That omission is especially notable because VinFast itself already maintains a Canadian commercial presence. The automaker lists sales or service locations in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec and continues to advertise Canadian lease promotions, meaning Green SM would not be introducing an entirely unfamiliar automotive brand if it eventually entered the country.
Canada nevertheless presents a complicated EV market. Statistics Canada reported that new zero-emission vehicle registrations fell 34.7% in 2025 and accounted for 9.5% of all new registrations, down from 14.6% in 2024. Ottawa introduced a new Electric Vehicle Affordability Program in 2026, offering qualifying buyers and businesses incentives of up to $5,000 for eligible battery-electric vehicles. None of that explains Green SM’s omission, because the company has not publicly given a reason. It simply means Canada is not part of the currently disclosed expansion schedule.
International Growth Could Strengthen VinFast — and Increase Financial Pressure
The relationship between Green SM and VinFast creates an unusually tight mobility ecosystem. Every time Green SM adds thousands of vehicles, VinFast potentially gains another large-volume customer. VinFast’s 2025 annual filing said the automaker views taxi rides and short-term rentals as opportunities for consumers to experience its vehicles before considering a purchase. In that sense, Green SM functions simultaneously as transportation service, fleet customer and product showcase.
The arrangement can also concentrate risk. Building company-owned fleets requires capital, while VinFast itself continues to spend heavily as it expands production and distribution. VinFast reported a gross loss of roughly US$1.53 billion in 2025 despite more than doubling annual revenue to approximately US$3.6 billion. Green SM has not disclosed detailed public financial statements comparable with a listed company, and it has declined to publicly specify its current debt, fundraising target or planned IPO valuation. International expansion will therefore be watched as closely for financial discipline as for passenger growth.
Canada Is Missing From the Plan — Not Necessarily Ruled Out Forever
The most accurate conclusion for Canadians is narrower than the headline might initially suggest. Green SM has identified the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands as planned 2026 launches and expects additional European expansion in 2027. Canada was not named. There has been no announcement that Green SM has permanently rejected the Canadian market, nor has VinFast announced a retreat from Canada.
The distinction matters because Green SM’s international map has been changing quickly. Vietnam was followed by Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines, then India and Kazakhstan, while Denmark became the first European foothold in July. A Canadian operation would require decisions involving licensing, fleet deployment, driver recruitment, charging and local economics that have not been publicly disclosed. For now, the bigger story is Green SM’s attempt to turn a fast-growing Asian electric-taxi operation into a global mobility company — while using VinFast vehicles to carry that expansion across continents.
