Green SM will attract customers by offering good service, quality and punctuality, says the Danish country manager.
Whether the taxis will be available in other Danish cities in the future will be decided on an ongoing basis, says the Danish country manager.
Vietnamese taxi company Green SM has officially launched their taxi service in Denmark on Thursday.
This makes Denmark the first country in Europe that Green SM is entering.
The Danish country manager, Lauge Braender, says that the choice fell on Denmark because the company sees a good match with Danish values.
– Denmark represents the values that Green SM also wants to represent. This applies to sustainability, high service and quality. Therefore, our profile fits Denmark very well, he says.
The company’s turquoise electric cars will initially be seen on the streets of Copenhagen.
According to Lauge Braender, there are no concrete plans yet to expand the service to other Danish cities. This will be considered on an ongoing basis, he says.
But even though the Danish taxi market is competitive, the Danish country manager is convinced that Green SM can stand out to customers.
– I am confident that we can deliver the best service, quality and punctuality because we employ our drivers and own our cars, so we have more control and can set standards for our cars, he says.
Green SM’s drivers are employed on terms that follow a collective agreement. This means, among other things, that they are offered a fixed monthly salary and do not work more than the equivalent of eight hours a day.
Job postings on social media state that drivers at Green SM are guaranteed a fixed salary of 29,000 kroner per month, plus a bonus scheme based on the number of kilometers driven per day.
Lauge Braender cannot answer how many drivers in Denmark the company will need in the long term. It depends on demand, he says.
But he believes that the terms offered by Green SM will be attractive to many drivers.
“They don’t work more than they are allowed to according to the collective agreement, and they have the rest periods they are supposed to have. I know that many people appreciate that,” he says.
Green SM was founded in Vietnam in 2023 and is part of the Vingroup group, which is Vietnam’s largest private group.
All the cars in Green SM’s taxi fleet are electric cars from the VinFast brand, which is also part of Vingroup.
In addition to Denmark, the taxi company operates in Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Kazakhstan.
And the company’s European ambitions don’t end with the Danish launch, says the company’s head of Europe, Richard Chahine.
“Denmark is our first step into Europe. We are here to stay, and we will expand when we see fit, depending on how the market reacts to us,” he says.
Richard Chahine does not want to say which countries the company is eyeing as possible markets in the future. But it is important that they are countries that align with Green SM’s values and the way the company is run.
– We focus on having a 100 percent electric fleet, providing service of a certain quality, safety and hiring drivers. Where we find the best match, we will focus on expanding, he says.