The evaluation fleet is here. Dongfeng sample units cleared customs at Kingston Wharves on the morning of March 12 — the cars Jamaica's first Dongfeng driver panel would put to the test.
What landed
The fleet covers the breadth of the planned lineup: the Shine GS E1 compact SUV, the Mage E3 crossover, the Huge E2 mid-size SUV, the Box and Vigo EVs, and the MHero 817 PHEV. Each unit was selected so the driver panel could compare a Dongfeng directly against the vehicles Jamaicans already cross-shop in that segment.
Landing the fleet in a single port call was deliberate: it let every comparison happen back-to-back at the same venue, on the same days, with the same drivers. Side-by-side beats sequential.
Where they went next
From the wharves, the units moved to the Bert's Auto Sales prep bay for pre-delivery inspection and shake-down mileage on real Jamaican roads before being released to the panel rotation.
The panel's verdict — and how it shaped the first order — is covered in our focus-group results article.
Why this matters for buyers
Jamaican buyers usually have to wait for a dealer to commit before getting a real look at a new brand. We did it the other way around: the lineup was stress-tested against real driver feedback before we asked anyone for a deposit. The risk on our side, the choice on yours.
