Usually when carmakers run sales promos around here, it’s something mildly enticing and quite tame. Zero down payment maybe, or free window tint and some fancy floor mats. Legado Motors, the official distributor of Dongfeng Motor Corporation in the Philippines, looked at all the other promos and went: “Hold my baijiu and watch this.” In what is definitely not a typo or a mistake, the firm is currently offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Yes, really.

The offer goes as follows: Buy an Aeolus Huge HEV until March 31 from any Dongfeng dealership nationwide, and you get a brand-new EX1 Pro EV for free. No catch, no gimmicks. Just a free car as part of your purchase.

In money terms, this translates to P1,998,000 for the whole deal, and if you deduct the list price of the EX1 Pro from this, then you basically get a modern family-size five-seater hybrid for P1,160,000—or two cars for P999,000 each, depending on how you look at it.

So, what does that cash buy you? Let’s start with the Aeolus Huge HEV, which we managed to try out during a recent media drive where it seemed pretty decent and comfortable. Powered by Dongfeng’s Mach Power 1.5-liter turbocharged hybrid engine, it delivers 245hp and 540Nm of torque. It comes with Nappa leather seats, a huge panoramic sunroof, and modern driver-assistance system including adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist. The design is modern, and our first impression of it was quite positive, with the build quality looking good and the ride more on the softer side.

The EX1 Pro, on the other hand, is a fully electric compact vehicle primarily aimed at city driving where its stated range of 300km should be plenty. It’s powered by a 33kW electric motor with a 26.8kWh battery, and can be fast-charged from 30% to 80% juice in just 30 minutes if you use a powerful enough DC charger. It comes with leather-fabric seats, an eight-inch touchscreen display, and the usual safety features you’d expect these days.

Dongfeng also offers an eight-year/170,000km battery warranty on EVs, a five-year/150,000km vehicle warranty, and a five-year/150,000km warranty on the hybrid battery pack, which should keep ownership worry-free.

So, why would a car company offer such a frankly outrageous promo, you ask? The question was answered by Legado Motors president Wilbert Lim himself during the media drive. He explained that Dongfeng—despite having been around as a company since the 1960s—is still considered an underdog and a bit of a newbie in our market. The best way to raise awareness and get people interested is to get more of the brand’s cars on the road.

Once you learn that the carmaker isn’t just some random brand from China, but actually has partnerships with Nissan, Citroen, Honda, Peugeot, Infiniti, and Renault, you can see that its ambitions appear firmly based in reality. There you have it, a car sales promo like you probably won’t see again in a hurry. If you fancy taking Dongfeng up on this deal, then check for your nearest dealership on the official website.