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It’s raining Chinese EVs in Australia as more and more new brands enter the growing electric car market. Now, another has been spotted, with Dongfeng rumoured to be the latest arrival to our market.
The Chinese carmaker is sharpening its arsenal while cherry-picking its products to enter new markets globally. That means that the Nammi 06 compact electric crossover, which was recently spied testing in Australia, and other new cars including a beefy Land Cruiser rival could be arriving on our soil imminently.
Primarily sold in China, Dongfeng is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer and is one of the largest around, but RHD markets are now clearly on its radar as the brand will use the cut-price Dongfeng Nammi Box EV to start its entry into Europe. With success in Europe, the brand could be plotting a full-scale launch here in Australia and Nammi happens to be a sub-brand with its first product being a rakish rival to other compact crossovers like the near Kia EV3, and Volkswagen ID.4, Jeep Avenger, GWM Ora, and more. It will be priced from just 21,990 Swiss Francs (AUD$38,000) in Europe.
Measuring above 4.3 meters, the Nammi 06 has a front-mounted electric motor good for 135kW while the major highlight could be the affordable pricing.
On the other hand, Dongfeng could also offer its massive Hummer-esque Mengshi M-Hero 917 in Australia thanks to a conversion here with a local partner, Walkinshaw Automotive, according to a report from carsales.com.au.
The M-Hero 917 looks mean, decked up with all-terrain tyres, huge ground clearance, an electric winch, and being peppered with even more off-road goodies.
Like the BYD YangWang U8, the super-sized SUV uses a range extender powertrain and has over 1,000hp and 505km range along with an electric 4WD system rather than a conventional one. There is also a pure EV version that can crab-walk and develop a colossal 1,400Nm to compete with the electric Hummer.
As of now, there are no official confirmations regarding Dongfeng’s entry into our market but it sounds like it’s only a matter of time before the appearance of the Nammi O6 in Australian showrooms.
Chinese EVs account for about one-third of the total EV sales in Australia, and most of the top 10 best-selling EVs in Australia are from Chinese manufacturers with many more in the pipeline including, possibly, Dongfeng soon.
