Dongfeng’s premium brand to introduce first mid-large SUV model

Beijing (Gasgoo)- VOYAH, the premium EV brand of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, will unveil its first mid-large intelligent and electric SUV in December, which is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of next year, the company said on its tech day.

The brand demonstrated its ESSA (Electric, Smart, Secure Architecture) and the body-in-white of the SUV on the day. The ESSA offers multi-choice valuable power solutions, including pure electric powertrain and range-extended powertrain, to meet demands of various scenarios.

ESSA; photo credit: VOYAH

According to Lu Fang, the brand’s CEO and CTO, the company planned to create a battery electric platform at the very beginning, but it added a range extender to alleviate range and charging anxiety, which are main concerns for potential electric vehicle buyers. What’s more, the architecture can give the company the ability to achieve rapid mass production of several models.

In October, Li ONE, the range-extended model from Li Auto, was the most popular new energy SUV model in October with an insurance registration of 3,438 units, according to China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC). In the battery electric SUV segment, the NIO ES6 sold most with monthly insurance registration of 2,610 units. 

Dongfeng Motor Corporation launched its all-new premium EV brand VOYAH (in Chinese, "Lantu") in July. VOYAH is positioned as a premium smart EV brand that completely eliminates range and charge anxiety for drivers. At the Auto China 2020 in September, the brand launched a new concept vehicle called“VOYAH iFree” after the debut of “VOYAH” concept vehicle "iland", which was launched globally two months ago. According to the company’s plan, from 2021, the brand will introduce at least one new model per year over the next three to five years, covering such segments as PVs, SUVs, MPVs and crossovers.