Shanghai (ZXZC)- VOYAH, the premium electric vehicle (EV) brand of Dongfeng Motor, saw the pre-production version of its first mass-produced vehicle model roll off the production line on Nov. 25, only 100 days after the brand was formally launched.

According to Dongfeng Motor, the first VOYAH-brand production vehicle is positioned as a full-sized premium smart electric SUV, which is set to be launched next month and may go on sale in the third quarter of 2021.

Pre-production car of VOYAH's first mass-production model

The yet-to-be-launched production model is created based on the iFree, VOYAH's first concept model, and will come with two powertrain solutions—full electric and range-extended EV—for consumers with different needs. 

“The roll-out of the pre-production car signifies that VOYAH's manufacturing and quality management systems have developed into the stage of substantial operation, and the brand is about to join the market competition,” said Zhu Yanfeng, chairman of Dongfeng Motor Corporation.

Dongfeng Motor is speeding up the development of VOYAH, the EV brand that embodies the group’s ambition to go upscale.

Dongfeng Motor announced in July its plan of returning to A shares and being listed on the ChiNext Market of Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company noted that the domestic IPO is carried out to further improve its management structure and complete a financing platform at home and abroad.

The proceeds from the financing will be deployed to research and develop the premium new energy PVs under an all-new brand (namely, “VOYAH”), the next-generation automobiles and forward-looking technologies, and supplement working capital.

Of those, 11 billion yuan ($1.676 billion) is set to be plowed in the “VOYAH” project and 8.8 billion yuan ($1.34 billion) will be mainly used to develop an all-new NEV architecture, autonomous cars and hydrogen fuel cells.

VOYAH plans to roll out at least one all-new model per year from 2021 and aims to make its products cover multiple segments including car, SUV and MPV over the next three to five years.