After completing its 45,000km road test in Malaysia earlier this year, Dongfeng Box will finally be launched into our market this Friday, 22 November. You don’t have to wait long to experience the new compact EV yourself as Central Auto Distributors Berhad (CADB) will be hosting a public test drive event this weekend to celebrate the launch.
Called The Box Fiesta, the event will take place from Saturday, 23 November to Sunday, 24 November at Dongfeng Cars Malaysia’s new flagship store in Kota Damansara.
In addition to test drive sessions, The Box Fiesta also offers additional activities for all visitors to enjoy including a fashion & style showcase, lion dance show, henna art station, coffee art workshop, and many more. Interestingly enough, Kota Damansara will not be the only place where you can check out the new EV.
There’s a public launch event in Penang too
Those who reside in the Northern part of Peninsular Malaysia can come to Fadason Pulau Tikus in Georgetown, Penang this weekend to get hands-on experience with Dongfeng Box. However, it is unclear whether there will be test drive unit over there.
On a related note, Fadason has also shared a footage that showed a massive group of Dongfeng Box which was apparently taken at Port Klang:
In terms of overall number, CADB so far has appointed 23 Dongfeng dealerships throughout Malaysia. Aside from Kota Damansara and Penang, it is not known when the rest of the dealerships will receive their own Dongfeng Box’s test drive unit though.
Dongfeng Box early bird offer
Meanwhile, the Box Fiesta’s promotional poster has also revealed benefits for the early adopters of Dongfeng Box. For one, early birds will be provided with a portable charging unit and front cabin storage.
In addition to that, customers can also choose one of these freebies too:
- EV charging credit worth RM3,000 with 1-year validity
- AC home charger worth RM3,288
- Service maintenance package worth RM3,000
Dongfeng Box quick specs
The Dongfeng Box can be obtained in two variants including the high-spec model which is known as the Box E3.
The Box E3 is equipped with a 42.3kWh battery pack which allows the EV to deliver 430km of CLTC-rated range. On the other hand, there is also Box E2 which has a 31.45kWh battery pack and can provide 330km of CLTC-rated range.
However, the CLTC standard is much more lenient than the WLTP standard which is closer to real-life range. Under the WLTP standard, Box E3 maxes out at 310km while the Box E2 model can provide up to 230km.
Regardless of the battery option, the Dongfeng Box for Malaysia has been fitted with a 70kW (94hp) electric motor that also produces 160Nm of torque. The EV has a top speed of 140km/h but the EV’s 0-100km/h timing was not revealed by CADB and Dongfeng.
The Box’s charging speed was also not mentioned on CADB’s website. However, its EV Database listing stated that the compact EV can support DC charging speed of up to 88kW.
The listing also said that the Box also features a 6.6kW AC onboard charger alongside Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability of up to 3.6kW. Other features that come standard with the Dongfeng Box includes Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) suite with Level 2 autonomous driving, 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen, 5-inch digital instrument screen, wireless phone charger, and customisable ambient lighting.
CADB has yet to officially reveal the pricing for this EV but a dealership has recently said that the Box E3 will start at around RM114,000. To learn more about the Dongfeng Box, check out our initial experience with the EV right here.
