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author | zhen yao

editor | li guozheng

what does 60 million cars mean?

if we estimate that the average length of each car is about 4.5 meters (between the common 4 and 5 meters), the total length of 60 million cars connected end to end would reach 270 million meters. based on the circumference of the earth's equator of about 40,075.02 kilometers, the total length of 60 million cars is enough to circle the earth about 6.74 times, which is a breathtaking scale.

the creator of this miracle is none other than dongfeng motor group co., ltd. ("dongfeng motor" for short), a large-scale automobile enterprise directly under the central government.

at 19:30 on september 19, 2024, at the main stadium of wuhan sports center, dongfeng motor welcomed the rollout of its 60 millionth car.

this is not only a new milestone for dongfeng motor, but also a new record in the history of china's automobile industry development.

this time, dongfeng motor celebrates its upcoming 55th birthday with 60 million vehicles, and pays tribute to the 75th birthday of new china. this brilliant achievement is engraved with dongfeng motor's magnificent journey spanning more than half a century, and embodies the sweat and wisdom of several generations of dongfeng people. in the past 55 years, this central enterprise has always kept pace with the times and walked with the people. with its profound car-making heritage, it has accumulated the trust and support of 60 million users.

the launch ceremony on that day also has great symbolic significance for the future. on the one hand, the model that bears the honor of being the 60 millionth vehicle of dongfeng motor is a high-end smart new energy brand and electric luxury flagship mpv - the new lantu dreamer. on the other hand, based on this new starting point, dongfeng motor deepens and embraces user transformation and further builds the "heyue+" user service concept.

from pioneering in the mountains to producing the first 2.5-ton truck eq240, to the 60 millionth lantu new dreamer rolling off the production line, dongfeng motor has been forging ahead for 55 years. during this journey, dongfeng motor has gone through wind and rain, and has not only been tenacious in the face of challenges and difficulties, but also self-reflection and getting back on its feet when it hits the bottom. over the past 55 years, countless highlights have recorded dongfeng motor's historic achievements in every technological breakthrough, market expansion, and brand rise.

looking back on the past, every achievement of dongfeng motor in producing tens of millions of vehicles is amazing.

on july 1, 1975, the first truck rolled off the production line of the second automobile works (the predecessor of dongfeng motor), filling the gap of "lack of heavy and few light" in china's automobile industry. after 34 years of hard work, in 2009, dongfeng motor crossed the first milestone of 10 million vehicles produced and sold.

then, in just four years, dongfeng motor achieved the second 10 million vehicles in 2013 at an astonishing speed, demonstrating its strong development momentum and market appeal.

no one expected that in the following four years, dongfeng motor would contribute a production of a full 20 million vehicles - by 2017, its total vehicle production proudly exceeded 40 million vehicles, demonstrating a miracle of leapfrog growth.

the wheels are rolling and the east wind is blowing. as of june 30, 2021, dongfeng motor's cumulative production has reached 52 million vehicles.

today, this central automobile manufacturing enterprise has reached a new peak of 60 million vehicles.

60 million vehicles is not just a simple accumulation of numbers. it is like a beacon, illuminating the development path of dongfeng motor and even the chinese automobile industry. the spirit of persistence, innovation and breakthrough contained in it will become a valuable asset to motivate dongfeng motor and the chinese automobile industry to move forward.

with 60 million vehicles as a new prologue, dongfeng motor sets sail again, continuing to interpret the power of chinese manufacturing and the dream of becoming a strong automobile nation with practical actions.

half a century of growth miracle

the 55 years of dongfeng motor's history is not only a history of corporate entrepreneurship with unremitting self-improvement and hard work, but also a vivid epitome of the chinese automobile industry from scratch, from small to large, and from weak to strong.

on september 28, 1969, the second automobile manufacturing plant broke ground in the mountains of shiyan, hubei. amid the rumbling sound of blasting, builders from all over the country once again kicked off the feat of the chinese people to independently build the automobile industry.

hardships and difficulties will eventually lead to success. after nearly six years of hard work, in june 1975, second automobile works ushered in a historic moment. the first basic model eq240 was finalized and put into production, marking the beginning of dongfeng motor's entry into the chinese automobile industry. in the same year, with the approval of the state council, the cars produced by second automobile works were named "dongfeng brand".

in 1985, second automobile works completed its annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles ahead of schedule, becoming the largest automobile company in china. on april 9, 1991, the one millionth vehicle of second automobile works rolled off the assembly line at the general assembly plant.

in september 1992, second automobile works was renamed dongfeng motor corporation. in the 1990s, during the transition to a socialist market economy, dongfeng motor adjusted its development strategy and launched its third entrepreneurial venture with light cars as the core, changing its product structure dominated by medium-duty trucks, and focusing on developing sedans, light vehicles, key assemblies and parts through open joint ventures and technology introduction.

during this period, dongfeng motor carried out a series of reforms and tenaciously survived the pain of institutional transition and market transformation. in 2000, its sales exceeded 220,000 vehicles and the overall company turned losses into profits.

entering the 21st century, especially after china joined the wto, my country's automobile industry has developed rapidly in the process of opening up. dongfeng motor, judging the situation, has successively carried out multi-level, multi-field and all-round open cooperation with multinational automobile companies such as nissan, psa, honda, hyundai kia, etc. during this period, dongfeng motor's headquarters moved to wuhan, which opened up a broader space for development.

on december 7, 2005, dongfeng motor group co., ltd. (00489.hk) was listed on the main board of the hong kong stock exchange, taking an important step into the international capital market.

at the same time, dongfeng motor's strategic planning has promoted the development of its own passenger car business and has led to a profound transformation in its product structure, from a single structure dominated by trucks in the past to a diversified product system with passenger cars and commercial vehicles going hand in hand.

in the era of new energy vehicles, dongfeng motor has seized the critical window period and promoted a number of major reform measures. on april 17, 2021, dongfeng motor released the "eastern wind rises" plan and the "leap action" for technological innovation in shanghai to accelerate its transformation into a technology-based enterprise. at the same time, it will continue to strengthen the strategic leadership of new energy, insist on high-intensity investment, vigorously promote the development of brand, platform, and vehicle product layout, and accelerate the independent control of key core technologies and resources.

on august 16, 2023, dongfeng motor implemented the "leap action", and the group integrated the management of three major product series brands including dongfeng fengshen, dongfeng yipai and dongfeng nano, and implemented business concentration, manufacturing concentration and marketing concentration.

among them, dongfeng fengshen, dongfeng yipai and dongfeng nano are aimed at the mainstream market, the "lantu" brand is aimed at the high-end new energy market, and the "mengshi" brand is aimed at the luxury electric off-road market. so far, dongfeng motor has formed a three-sword combination in the field of new energy passenger vehicles - the three have both combined advantages, scale effects, and brand synergy, which can attack, defend and prevent market competition.

in implementing the "leap project", dongfeng motor has built a "1+n" r&d system with the r&d institute as the core and the r&d forces of various business units working together to strengthen scientific and technological planning and leading technologies, advanced materials, software engineering r&d and styling design. the number of invention patents disclosed and authorized has ranked first in the industry for two consecutive years.

"leap action", "leap project", "leap up project", "dual target assessment", "leap creation project" and other reforms are not only dongfeng motor's firm response to challenges and breakthroughs, but also a powerful answer as an industry leader to lead the future development of china's automobile industry.

along the way, from building a factory in a mountain valley to producing the first truck, and then to the 60 millionth car rolling off the assembly line; from passing the "stop and slow construction" barrier and realizing "military-to-civilian conversion", to group operations, joint ventures, and listing on the hong kong stock market; from shiyan to xiangyang to wuhan, the "triple jump", and then to the whole country and the world... in repeated self-transcendence, dongfeng motor has made a great leap from mountains to rivers and then to the sea.

technology and strength shine

if we use one sentence to summarize the domestic automobile industry in recent years, it is "both winning and losing are determined, and life and death are determined", and technological capability is one of the important chips that determines whether an automobile company can stay at the table.

"in the new energy era, whether in the first half or the second half, dongfeng will always be there." this central enterprise in the automotive industry said this, and its confidence is based on its technological capabilities. in the game of the new energy era, dongfeng motor has already made the first move.

firstin terms of platform architecture construction, dongfeng motor has demonstrated its forward-looking vision and profound foundation.

in the field of passenger cars, dongfeng mengshi off-road architecture, dongfeng quantum architecture, and green energy-saving dsma architecture have been built.

in the commercial vehicle field, we have created a new energy technology architecture platform for medium and heavy-duty trucks; we have innovatively launched a skateboard platform for both passenger and commercial vehicles, providing users with a new generation of new energy commercial vehicle solutions that are high-end, customized, and intelligent, building a new competitive advantage in the new energy track.

secondin the field of power systems, dongfeng motor has built a full range of power systems covering fuel, plug-in hybrid, pure electric and hydrogen energy.

mach electric hybrid phrev technology is one of the revolutionary innovations. this technology combines all the advantages of pure electric, extended range and plug-in hybrid, and is called by industry insiders as "leading the world's hybrid technology into a new generation."

the hybrid engine thermal efficiency of the mach hybrid phrev is as high as 45.18%, achieving a new breakthrough in the industry. it is also a hybrid-specific engine with the highest effective thermal efficiency of over 45% certified by china automotive research institute, making it an industry benchmark.

dongfeng motor also excels in the key areas of three-electric technology.

mach e pure electric drive is developing a 25,000 rpm rare earth high-speed motor, and the rotor bench test data has exceeded 34,000 rpm. the self-developed solid-state battery has been put into demonstration operation for 1.5 million kilometers, and the high-energy-density all-solid-state battery has been trial-produced and rolled off the production line.

dongfeng hydrogen boat achieved "five industry firsts". its 150kw full-power hydrogen fuel cell stack was the first to obtain the announcement for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and started demonstration operation.

thirddongfeng motor has continued to deepen its efforts in the fields of smart cockpit, smart driving, smart vehicle control and smart ecology, and has successfully achieved independent control of a series of key core technologies. in particular, it has firmly occupied the commanding heights of competition in the second half of the intelligentization in terms of independent automotive-grade chip development, automotive operating system innovation and high-level autonomous driving technology breakthroughs.

for example, by adopting a dual-wheel drive strategy of single-vehicle intelligence and networked intelligent driving, dongfeng motor relies on its independently developed centralized electronic and electrical architecture, integrating the powerful computing power of supercomputing technology and the deep learning capabilities of large artificial intelligence models to build dongfeng's unique intelligent algorithm library.

this innovative achievement empowers dongfeng's full range of intelligent driving products from l2 to l4 levels. among them, l4-level unmanned buses have been put into regular operation in 35 cities across the country, including xiongan new area and wuhan.

"speed ​​up the development of new energy business, win in new tracks, and break into new horizons." at the beijing auto show held in april this year, zhou zhiping, general manager and deputy secretary of the party committee of dongfeng motor, announced that in the next three years, dongfeng motor will invest more than 60 billion yuan to launch 30 new passenger car new energy products and 14 commercial vehicle new energy basic models.

this year is a critical year for dongfeng motor’s “three-year transformation and upgrading action plan” and a crucial year for its deepening reform efforts.

from january to august, dongfeng motor's vehicle sales soared to 1.583 million units, an increase of 8.7% over the same period last year, surpassing the industry average.

what is particularly eye-catching is that the sales volume of its own-brand vehicles has soared to 873,000 units, with a year-on-year growth rate of 44.8%, which fully demonstrates dongfeng motor's rapid improvement in the construction of its own brand and market recognition.

in the field of new energy, dongfeng motor achieved an astonishing year-on-year growth rate of 108.5% with sales of 530,000 vehicles, which shows that dongfeng motor is accelerating in the new energy track and taking firm steps on the road of green travel and sustainable development.

if technology is hard power, then brand is soft power. what ultimately remains in the market must be the brand power that touches the hearts of users.

facing the new situation, dongfeng motor deepens and embraces the user transformation. standing at the new starting point of 60 million vehicles, this central enterprise in the automobile industry adheres to the values ​​of "quality, wisdom and harmony" and further builds the "harmony +" user service concept. the core is to abide by the sincere goodwill of users, the professional and dedicated attitude without limits, and the endless innovation and breakthrough. it sincerely serves users, creates surprises, and works together with users. it strives to be in harmony with users and complement each other, and build a "safe and reliable home", "harmony and joy" and "permanent trust" for users.

this sincere oath is not only a true reflection of dongfeng motor's deep affection for its users for 55 years, but also the source of motivation for its continuous progress into the future.

it will be transformed into brand power imperceptibly, and over time, feed back into the company's growth, further consolidating and enhancing dongfeng motor's brand value and market position.