Development of the brand's platform is now in a substantial stage, with prototype testing results meeting expectations.

(Image credit: Dongfeng Motor)

Dongfeng Motor (HKG: 0489) will launch its new high-end electric off-road M brand in June, local media Cailian said Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Development of the brand's platform is now in a substantial stage, with prototype testing results meeting expectations, according to the report.

Dongfeng had planned to unveil related products and future technology strategy at the Beijing auto show in April, but it was postponed because of the Covid pandemic, the report noted.

As CnEVPost mentioned yesterday, the outbreak of the new Covid pandemic in China is affecting the pace of new product launches by car companies.

Dongfeng Motor's premium electric vehicle (EV) brand Voyah has had its MPV model, which was scheduled to launch on April 7, postponed, and the release date of Nio's new SUV ES7 has been postponed from April to the end of May.

Dongfeng had said at the Shanghai auto show in late April 2021 that it would focus on building Voyah, Aeolus and a premium electric off-road brand. The automaker said it would create a new platform, MORV, for the brand.

In September 2021, Dongfeng Chairman Zhu Yanfeng said at the 3rd World Congress on New Energy Vehicles that the company would launch a new brand, M, in 2022.

On January 18 this year, Dongfeng began construction of a factory for its M brand, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2023 with a planned annual production capacity of 100,000 units.

It is worth noting that Dongfeng is not the only car company that has plans to launch an electric off-road model.

BYD will launch its premium brand in the first half of 2022, and its first vehicle will be a hardcore crossover priced at around 500,000 to 1 million yuan, National Business Daily quoted the company as saying last December.

The report did not provide more details, though other local media previously quoted BYD passenger car brand and public relations division deputy general manager Du Guozhong as saying that the company's first premium model could be priced between RMB 500,000 and RMB 900,000.

It is positioned as a high-end hardcore crossover, with the first model and the new premium brand expected to be announced in the first half of next year, as mentioned in the previous report.

BYD said to launch premium brand in H1 2022 with first model to be priced at up to RMB 1 million