What's this new car about then?
The Dongfeng Box isn't just a new car, it's also the introduction of a whole new brand for New Zealand. It's coming through established channels: Auto Distribution Holdings, which is part of the larger Armstrong's Group that also imports Leapmotor, Smart, Peugeot, Citroen and Opel .
The car first: Box is a city-sized hatchback with pure-electric power. It's just 4020mm long, so true supermini size, but the EV platform allows a long wheelbase to maximise interior space: 2663mm.
The 43.89kWh battery gives a WLTP range of 317km and is matched with a 70kW/160Nm front-mounted motor. Yes, modest power, but the Box is also pretty light for an EV: 1342kg. Maximum DC charge rate is 60kW (the battery is air, not water-cooled).
The Box is on sale now in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The next Dongfeng models to come are the Vigo medium-SUV and 007 sedan, arriving in the first quarter of next year.
And the brand? Dongfeng (say it "Dongfong") was founded in 1969 and it's one of China's "big four" state-owned makers, with along with SAIC (which includes MG and LDV), Changan Automobile and FAW Group. Dongfeng is no stranger to export markets: it already sells vehicles in more than 100 countries.
The Dongfeng Box isn't just a new car, it's also the introduction of a whole new brand for New Zealand.
It might seem like an odd time to be launching a new brand with an electric focus. It's still a tough environment for plug-in vehicles in NZ, pure-electrics claiming just 5.6% market share at the moment. In a total fleet of 4.3 million vehicles, fewer than 90,000 are currently EVs: around 2% penetration.
But that's also kind of the point.
"We're trying to break some barriers," says Auto Distribution chief executive Simon Rutherford. "We need to give customers the opportunity to have features they wouldn't otherwise have, at a price that is new to the market.
The company's 'parity plus' price claim comes in when you look at the standard specification of the Box. It comes with quite a few surprise-and-delight features.
"What we mean by that is absolute value; we want to be the first in the market to start delivering true EV price parity. There will be others, but they won't be the first. We will.
"We're targeting parity-plus. That's our mindset... it has to represent more value than our competitors."
"We are still at the beginning of the EV journey," says Dongfeng's NZ general manager Arek Zywot. "That's exactly where Dongfeng can come in, with an accessible, well-specified vehicle."
Which segues neatly into the next bit.
How much is it?
The Box is now on sale at a special launch price of $29,990, a $3k reduction on full retail which will stand at least until the end of January. But will that carry on? "We'll see," says Rutherford.
The "parity plus" aspect comes in when you look at the standard specification of the Box.
It comes with quite a few surprise-and-delight features like automatic parking, flush door handles, frameless doors, lie-flat front seats so you can nap while you recharge, power adjustment/heating/ventilation/memory for the driver's chair (including a welcome function that slides it back for ingress), 50W wirelesss phone charger with cooling and 32-colour ambient lighting.
There are options, mostly around paint finish. White is the only no-cost colour; otherwise silver and blue are both $499, or you can have the blue, red or purple with a white roof for $749.
There's also a frunk-option. The under-bonnet space is there obviously, but to make use of it you'll need the bespoke clip-in plastic tray ($495). Cargo space in the boot is decent for a small car, anyway: 326 litres.
Dongfeng has partnered with Heartland Bank for finance packages and says it will launch a guaranteed future value deal for the car next year.
What's it like to drive?
We drove the Box literally around the block as part of Dongfeng NZ's media launch programme in Auckland; we've got a car coming in a few weeks for the full review.
But a bit of city driving suits, given the kind of car this is. First impressions? It's no ball of fire with just 70kW (you do still get three drive modes and three levels of regen), but it's smooth and eager enough in traffic. The steering is super-light but the car steers pretty well. It's a likeable little package.
A bit of seat-time also highlighted how spacious the Box is (that long wheelbase), the perceived quality of the interior, which is quite ornate in places (check out the faux-straps on the dashboard, like old-timey luggage) and the cat avatar that serves as your guide around the infotainment system. It can provide you with motos to help your day along, although some are lost in translation: "The best books are the best"?
One other quirk that popped up. The Box claims to have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but what it actually has is a plug-in adaptor that contains the necessary app to make phone projection work (ie you can't simply plug into the car directly with a cable).
Okay, it is technically wireless. And you do get a grunty wireless phone charger with cooling.
Safety equipment includes a fairly full suite of active driver aids, although Box didn't get off to a great start in this part of the world with a much-publicised 3-star rating from Ancap last month.
The warranty package covers 6 years/200,000km for the car and 8 years/200,000km for the traction battery, with 6 years roadside assistance.
What’s the pick of the range?
"No base models and straightforward value" is a Dongfeng NZ thing, says Rutherford, so Box only comes in one specification.
The main choice you have to make is colour (see above for exterior-paint pricing) including three interior options: black/grey, black/white and a very bold purple/white.
What other cars should I consider?
Part of the Box's marketing proposition is that it fills a gap in the market: a truly affordable, fully-featured pure-electric city car that comes at price point equivalant to petrol vehicles. Auto Distribution's claim that Box is "the only light hatchback EV under $30,000 available in the country for immediate delivery" is weirdly specific, but okay... we'll give it that.
There are other small EVs on the market, though. Consider the Fiat 500e or GWM Ora; the Fiat is even smaller than the Dongfeng, the GWM slightly larger. Both are considerably more expensive though, even at their recently reduced pricing of $37,990 and $35,990 respectively.
The Box's arch rival will be the BYD Atto 1, a hatch of a similar size (just a snip shorter overall) that arrives next year at $29,990.
Presumably Dongfeng is also hoping to pique the interest of a few petrol-hatch buyers. The special price of $29,990 is line-ball with Suzuki's top Swift, the RSC.
