What Is Happening With Dongfeng Brand In Malaysia

We dissect the EDGE newspaper article on CADB with Volt Auto about the Dongfeng business in Malaysia

In the past few years, we have seen new Chinese automotive brands launch in Malaysia with BIG fanfare and then disappear quietly. One good example is NETA with its expensive launch in Menara Affin @ TRX in July 2024 that came with a lot of promises and then soon after it slowly disappeared. 

Next was BAIC with its launch at Wisma Tractors, Subang with high level Ministers and government officials at the launch and then soon after all quiet …… very quiet ……. but there are rumblings that BAIC will return very soon.

Now we have this rather worrying article from the EDGE newspaper on October 19th 2026, just 2 weeks ago. When you see an article in the EDGE, rest assured it is a well researched article and with no hidden agendas like we see with KOL and Influencer media today.

The article says that ….. ‘Dongfeng Motor Corporation electric vehicle (EV) franchise in Malaysia is up for grabs, with at least three parties understood to be vying for its distribution and import rights from next year. The three bidders are Sunway Bhd, Singapore-based Volt Auto Pte Ltd,(who are the current brand owners) and Central Auto Distributors Bhd (CADB) (which is the approved permit holders for Volt Auto Pte Ltd) which is a unit of the Malay Vehicle Importers and Traders Association of Malaysia (Pekema) via a joint venture with companies under the Berjaya group and Naza Corp Sdn Bhd.

Another potential bidder for the Dongfeng franchise in Malaysia is said to be online used car outfit, Carro, but this could not be ascertained at press time.’ 

The Dongfeng brand first arrived in Malaysia on the 26th November 2024 (almost 2 years ago) with CADB and they introduced the BOX (also known as Nammi) compact electric car with a lot of fanfare. This was a high profile launch and the selling price was an interesting RM101,000 (to compete with the BYD Dolphin which was from RM100,530).

By March 2025, the Dongfeng BOX selling price dropped to just RM78,888. This heavy discounting had now pushed the used value of a Dongfeng Box to a low RM50k plus. (see image below).

Then 10 months later in February 2026 Volt Auto arrived in Malaysia and announced that they were the authorised Dongfeng brand distributor for Singapore (already running and selling well) and now Malaysia. CADB had become just the AP holder for Volt Auto. Strange but true!

Volt Auto Malaysia launched the sleek Dongfeng 007 to rival the BYD Seal (starting around RM171,800) and the Tesla Model 3 (starting near RM169,000).

Soon after Volt Auto launched the Dongfeng Vigo from RM108,000 to compete head on with the Proton e.MAS 7. Then in August 2026, the Vigo was being discounted to just RM79,800 just 6 months after its launch. Not a good sign at all for the brand.

So what happened from the start of the BOX launch by CADB to the hard discounting of the Vigo by Carro (dealer under Volt Auto) and Volt Auto in August 2026?

The primary catalyst driving CADB and Volt Auto’s business pivot starts with Malaysia’s evolving EV policy framework. The government’s gradual tightening of non-assembled CBU import conditions and the imposition of minimum price thresholds (RM100,000 for CBU EVs) have made long-term reliance on CBU units economically unsustainable. Driven by stricter government regulations and changing tax frameworks on completely built-up (CBU) imports, Volt Auto and CADB tried accelerating their Completely Knocked Down (CKD) local assembly roadmap. 

However, finding an assembly partner in Malaysia is the next problem due to cost as without high volume sales, local assembly DOES NOT make sense. Plus, finding vendors that can supply parts at ‘sensible made in chain’ part prices.

Then there is the on going price WAR in the Chinese and also European electric car segment in Malaysia. When you see profits getting smaller and sales numbers reducing due to wide options available, the ‘EV business model’ looks less interesting in Malaysia for new players like Dongfeng.

Sunway and Berjaya and even Carro may have cash reserves to enter this tough EV business in Malaysia, but it is worthwhile with Li Auto and Changan and Xpeng opening offices here and Xiaomi planning to make a big push into Malaysia.

Next question, can Voyah take sensible luxury MPV sales numbers when we see the current discounting from Denza and Xpeng for their high end luxury MPV’s. 

We were invited to China recently for the launch of the Voyah right hand drive luxury MPV’s by Volt Auto who plan to introduce the brand and their range of luxury MPV’s in Malaysia in early 2027 with a new AP partner.

Rather than blending Voyah with current Dongfeng passenger cars, Volt Auto plans to operate dedicated, standalone Voyah experience centers across major urban centers in Malaysia. This is probably why Berjaya and Sunway are showing interest in Dongfeng.

At the end of the day, coming to Malaysian and opening their own office and starting their own local assembly is the best strategy for Chinese state-owned automotive giant Dongfeng Motor Corporation. This way Dongfeng buyers will have more confidence with the brand, after sales, warranty and parts! Right now ….. the Dongfeng is sitting side by side with NETA and BAIC.