14 questions
Commercial terms, logistics and technical questions from importers, answered directly. Nothing here is gated behind a form, and nothing is deferred to a sales call.
One unit. We quote single-vehicle orders for island and trial-fleet buyers, and there is no minimum order quantity for a first purchase. Volume pricing tiers begin at 5 units, improve again at 10 and 20, and SKD assembly becomes economic from roughly 20 units depending on the destination's duty structure.
Eight: the V80 PRO, V90, EV80 PRO and EV90 vans, and the T60, Interstellar L, eTerron 9 and T90 EV pickups. All four are built right-hand drive on the SAIC MAXUS production line — none is a converted left-hand-drive vehicle, which matters because converted units routinely fail pre-export conformity inspection in Kenya, Tanzania and Australia. The newer models — Interstellar X and its Passenger Edition, the Dana family, the Yuanjie hybrid and the Lingsheng V100 — are left-hand drive at launch; ask before quoting any of them into an RHD market.
25–35 days from confirmed deposit for left-hand-drive stock colours, and 35–55 days for right-hand drive on the models where RHD is batch-allocated. The T60 and Interstellar L run RHD as a standing production configuration, so they match the LHD lead time. Sea transit is additional: roughly 28–35 days to Mombasa, 18–24 days to Jebel Ali, 7–10 days to Laem Chabang and 30–38 days to Callao.
30% telegraphic transfer deposit on order confirmation, 70% balance against the copy bill of lading before release of original documents. Irrevocable letters of credit at sight are accepted for orders above 10 units through a first-class bank. We do not ship on open account or against a documents-against-acceptance arrangement.
The eTerron 9 is certified at 430 km WLTP combined and the T90 EV at 330 km WLTP combined, with 471 km on the WLTP city cycle. Plan real-world duty at 75–85% of the WLTP figure in temperate conditions, less in sustained heat above 40°C or cold below −10°C, and less again when towing at or near the rated limit.
Overnight on AC, or under an hour on DC. The eTerron 9 charges 5–100% in 12 hours from an 11 kW three-phase supply, or 20–80% in 42 minutes on a 115 kW DC charger. The T90 EV charges 5–100% in 9 hours at 11 kW three-phase or 13 hours at 7 kW single-phase, and 10–80% in 45 minutes on a 70 kW DC charger. For depot fleets, AC overnight charging is the practical answer and needs no public infrastructure.
It depends on the body. The T90 EV carries 1,000 kg and tows 1,000 kg braked; the eTerron 9 carries 620 kg and tows 3,500 kg braked with a 6,500 kg gross train mass; the Interstellar X and new-generation Interstellar L also tow 3,500 kg braked. On the van side the EV80 PRO and the Dana Super EREV both carry 1,500 kg. SAIC MAXUS does not publish a payload figure for every variant, because N1 ratings are re-declared per destination at homologation — we confirm the certified figure for your market on the proforma invoice rather than quoting a number here.
3 years or 100,000 km on the vehicle, and on the two electric models a further 8 years or 200,000 km on the traction battery, whichever comes first. Export warranty is administered through the importer, not direct to end users: we supply the parts and the technical claim support, and the importing dealer performs the work. Warranty on a unit sold outside its intended market, or serviced outside the approved schedule, is void — confirm the destination on the proforma invoice.
Ro-Ro costs less per unit and suits single vehicles and large mixed shipments; containerised 40HQ takes two vehicles, protects paint on long transits, and reaches ports with no car-carrier rotation. We quote both on every proforma invoice. For coastal and island destinations we recommend containers — a Ro-Ro deck exposes the vehicle to salt spray for the entire transit.
Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, and the manufacturer's certificate of conformity with the VIN and technical data. Destination-specific certificates are arranged on request: KEBS PVoC for Kenya, SONCAP for Nigeria, TBS verification for Tanzania, GSO and SABER for the GCC, and EAC certification for the Eurasian Economic Union.
SKD, yes, from roughly 20 units; full CKD is an OEM programme decision, not something an exporter can commit to. SKD shifts final assembly to the destination and in several African and ASEAN markets cuts landed duty enough to pay for the assembly line within the first order. We supply the kit, the assembly documentation and the fixture list.
Parts ship from China against your order; local availability depends on whether SAIC MAXUS has an appointed distributor in the country. We recommend ordering an initial parts package with the first shipment — service items, high-wear components and the specific EV parts a general workshop will not stock — consolidated into the same container at no extra freight cost.
Higher purchase price, materially lower running cost, and the crossover point usually falls between 60,000 and 120,000 km depending on local diesel and electricity prices. Electric drivelines have no oil changes, no filters, no timing belts and far less brake wear thanks to regeneration. Where diesel is subsidised the payback stretches; where it is taxed and depot electricity is cheap, it shortens sharply.
We quote per order rather than publishing a price list. Incoterm, steering, trim, colour, destination port and order size all move the number by more than any single published figure could usefully represent, so a list would be wrong for almost everyone reading it. Send the model, destination and quantity and a proforma invoice follows within one business day. Volume and repeat-order pricing is negotiated directly with Kunta.
Message any of the three sales lines on WhatsApp — the bubble at the bottom right of every page opens them, and each link prefills a message so you do not have to retype the specification. Kate handles instant quotations and single units, Fan handles dealer accounts, and Kunta handles bulk, fleet and tender work.
For regional homologation detail, the market pages answer the questions specific to each destination. For process detail, see export process and documents and right-hand drive supply.
Send the model, destination port and quantity. A proforma invoice with FOB and CIF options follows within one business day.