China's Dongfeng to assess European sales before deciding on assembly plant

TURIN -- China's Dongfeng Motor Group needs to evaluate sales prospects in Europe before deciding on the possible opening of a factory in the region, one of its top executives said.

Ma Lei, the general manager of Dongfeng's international business, spoke at a product event here Sept. 12, amid attempts by the Italian government to convince Chinese automakers to produce in the country.

State-owned Dongfeng entered Europe in December 2022 in Norway and expanded to the other Nordic countries in the first half of last year, and to Belgium and Luxembourg in the second half of 2023.

The company, which uses the Dongfeng name for volume models and Voyah as its premium brand, is launching sales in Italy now. In Turin this week, it held the global debut of the Voyah Courage electric premium midsize SUV and the European premiere of the Dongfeng Box small electric hatchback, which is already on sale in China.

Xie Qian, manager of Dongfeng's European operations, told Automotive News Europe that by year-end the company hopes to reach 10,000 cumulative sales in Europe since its launch in Norway in late 2022. 

Dongfeng registered fewer than 600 vehicles (of which 65 were Voyahs) from January to July in the European Union, the U.K. and EFTA countries, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
 
Qian clarified that of that total, about 3,000 would be cars sold to retail customers and the other 7,000 would be invoiced to national sales companies and dealers at wholesale.

Sub-€25,000 EV

Qian added that the company currently has 2,000 Box EVs on three car carriers headed to Europe from China. The entry-level version of the Box with a range of 180 km (111 miles) is expected to sell for €23,000 to €25,000.

The Courage will arrive in Europe next year and is expected to have a starting price of “over €50,000,” Qian said. 

In Europe, Dongfeng relies on national sales companies that operate with franchised private dealers. 

Qian said that Dongfeng would have 114 dealers in Europe by the year-end and plans to have 160 by the end of 2025.

Sales in Italy will start with 22 dealers with a target of 10,000 sales in 2025. 

The best-selling Chinese brand in Europe, SAIC's MG, had 30,263 sales in Italy last year. Through August, MG’s sales were up by 46 percent to 26,607, according to figures from the Italian Transport Ministry.

Manufacturing in Italy?

The Italian government has said it is in discussions with Chinese automakers, including Dongfeng and Chery Auto, about making cars in the country. Talks with Dongfeng are at an advanced stage, sources said in August.

Asked in Turin whether Dongfeng had already visited potential sites in the country, Ma said it was "too early to have an initial idea."

"Many ask us about a plant in Europe, but we need to assess the whole situation first, including from the point of view of customers," he added. "As a first step we need to take care of brand (development) and distribution."

Italy is engaging with Chinese groups at it seeks to revive its domestic automotive output by attracting another major automaker to the country to flank Stellantis.

Reuters contributed to this report