Chinese brand Dongfeng has officially announced its entry into South Africa’s passenger-vehicle market, unveiling the fully electric Box at a local launch event…
It’s official: Dongfeng is the latest Chinese automotive brand to hit South Africa, displaying the first product that will be sold locally – the fully electric Box – at a launch event in Gauteng. As we understand it, retail operations are scheduled to commence relatively early in 2025.
While the Dongfeng marque technically already has a minor presence in the local market’s heavy-truck segment, this announcement marks the Chinese state-owned firm’s entry into Mzansi’s passenger-vehicle space.
Set to be distributed locally by a company called “E Auto Motor”, Dongfeng will to kick off its SA operations with the Box, a fully electric compact hatchback that’s a little smaller than the BYD Dolphin. Known as the “Nammi 01” in its domestic market of China, the Dongfeng Box measures 4 030 mm long and has a wheelbase of 2 660 mm.
Equipped with a 42.3 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack, the little EV has a range of about 430 km , according to the Wuhan-based automaker. The front-mounted electric motor generates 70 kW and 160 Nm , while top speed is pegged at 140 kph . Pricing for this model has yet to be confirmed, but we’d speculate it could launch as one of the market’s most affordable EVs.
Dongfeng furthermore confirmed plans to launch 2 more products in South Africa in 2025. Though the automaker didn’t reveal exactly which models it would bring next year, it’s perhaps worth noting that – in addition to the Box – only the 007 (an electric sedan) has thus far been engineered for right-hand drive.
A yet-to-be-revealed electric SUV bearing the “S32” internal designation is also expected to be developed in right-hooker guise. We’ll update this article should more official information on Dongfeng’s local operations be released…
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