BEIJING (Engine): With the Dongfeng Box, Torje Sulland and the importing company Electric Way have set their sights on a price tag with six digits and a number 1 on the far left.
– There are still a few rounds of negotiations with the factory on the final price, but the aim is to offer the most affordable car on the Norwegian market and present it for under 200,000, says Sulland.
State-owned Dongfeng is one of China’s largest car manufacturers. After a restructuring in 2023, the low-cost brand Dongfeng Nammi came as an offshoot of their collaboration with the Renault-Nissan alliance. And among their small handful of cheap models, Nammi 01 comes to Norway as Dongfeng Box.
Have you read these cases?
No kidding
The car has a range of up to 340 km.
So no crazy car. But it is important for more than the price barrier.
– It opens up a new segment, when it becomes possible for first-time buyers to start with a new car, says Lars Mabro Carlsson in Eletric Way.
The car is produced in five configurations at one of Dongfeng’s factories in Wuhan, three of which come to Norway.
– It is obviously a strategic decision to set the price as low as possible. We need cars on the road to build the brand, and then of course price is a tool. It is important for us to reach a price level that we must not reverse, then we will rather bleed, says Carlsson.
Lower level
He believes the time for constant car prices is over – and has a clear opinion about the direction in which they should move.
– I think everyone in the Norwegian car industry needs to take care of their sails and establish prices at a lower level, he says.
Electric Way also has Voyah in its portfolio, and learned a lesson in connection with the introduction of Voyah Free, an SUV that is now too close to NOK 700,000. The skyrocketing of the dollar and the drop in battery prices were expensive experiences.
Lille Box is far from the premium ambitions of Voyah. But so is the price.
Two versions
Electric Way takes in at least two versions of the car:
● The simplest has 250 km WLTP range, battery capacity 31.4 kWh net.
● The larger one has 340 km and 42.3 kWt in battery capacity.
The car is produced in five different versions in China, but not all of these come to Norway.
– Production of the first group of cars that will come to Norway starts in mid-July, so we will have them in Norway in September. The sales target this year is 350 cars, says Lars Mabro Carlsson.
PS: Norway’s cheapest car right now is the Nissan Leaf. It costs NOK 234,000.
