A million electric drives rolled off the line—has Deep Blue bounced back again?
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Recently, Deep Blue Automobile’s one millionth electric drive system rolled off the production line at Changan’s New Power Plant, and at the same time, the brand released its brand-new generation “Force Ultra Integrated Electric Drive” technology.
On the surface, this marks a technological victory for Deep Blue, as the “vanguard” of Changan New Energy; but in the fierce 2026 car market, it feels more like a defensive battle that must be fought for “cost reduction and efficiency improvement.”
Wall Street News learned from Deep Blue insiders on March 30 that after a sales slump at the beginning of the year, Deep Blue’s March delivery volume is expected to once again reach the key threshold of 30,000 units (supplementary delivery data for January and February).
In the new energy vehicle industry, the efficiency of the electric drive system directly determines the upper limit of a vehicle’s energy efficiency. The new generation electric drive released by Deep Blue this time set a new industry record with a working efficiency of 94.13%. Behind this achievement are the “X-PIN” winding technology which reduces axial height by 16%, mass-produced ultra-thin silicon steel sheets that provide extreme control over iron loss, and micro-core high-frequency pulse heating technology that boosts power output by 55% at -30°C low temperatures.
What’s more noteworthy is the achievement of the “one million units” milestone.
Starting in 2017 from a “napkin sketch,” to the mass production of the first Force Ultra Integrated Electric Drive in 2022, and breaking the cumulative production of one million units now, Deep Blue has completed the leap from technology verification to scale delivery in less than four years.
In the automotive industry, one million units means a mature supply chain, stable manufacturing process, and reliable quality control system, which is a path any automaker must pass from “survival” to “mainstream.”
From a strategic perspective, Deep Blue plays a threefold role within the Changan New Energy system as the “pillar of high-quality development, force for technological breakthroughs, and engine for going global.”
This also explains why Deep Blue chose to open source 112 power battery safety patents and 50 micro-core high-frequency pulse heating patents to the industry in 2025. In Changan’s master plan, Deep Blue not only pursues betterment for itself, but also undertakes the mission of promoting industry-wide progress in common technologies.
The good news on the technology front comes just in time for a market rebound.
Deep Blue Chairman Deng Chenghao recently revealed that after the new energy market experienced a slump in January and February and then rebounded, domestic single-day orders on March 23 are highly likely to exceed 2,000 vehicles. Combined with global market growth, Deep Blue’s sales are expected to return to previous high levels.
The beginning of 2026 has not been smooth for Deep Blue. Delivery volume in January declined month-on-month, and in February, the company didn’t even announce overall sales, earning the label of “the most miserable car company at year’s start” in the industry.
At that time, Changan’s sibling brand Qiyuan posted 18,300 units delivered in February, a 96.3% month-on-month increase, forming a sharp contrast between the two.
In terms of product structure, Deep Blue is still relying on the S05 model to carry the sales banner. Although S07 and L07 are performing steadily and L06 orders are picking up each month, the risk of “walking on one leg” has not been fully eradicated. In the fiercely competitive new energy market, a brand’s risk resistance is always in doubt if it cannot form synergy with multiple models.
Facing the 2026 elimination competition, Deep Blue is not without reserves.
On the capital front, the 6.122 billion yuan Series C financing completed at the end of 2025 has already been received. This round of funding not only introduced Chongqing Yufu Holdings (2.5 billion yuan) and CMB Gold Investment (500 million yuan) as new shareholders, but also shaped a diverse shareholder structure of “Changan Automobile + local state assets + financial institutions.”
Deng Chenghao’s stance is clear: “Deep Blue only has a 2-to-3-year window. This money must race against time to get three things done: technology R&D, brand building, and marketing system upgrades.”
Intelligentization is another card Deep Blue is betting on. In December 2025, Deep Blue SL03 entered the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s first batch of L3 conditional autonomous driving vehicle access list. Forty-six Deep Blue vehicles with exclusive license plates hit the streets of Chongqing, becoming the first large-scale fleet of L3 autonomous vehicles on China’s roads.
Its cooperation with Huawei is also deepening. From comprehensive adoption of Huawei’s Qian Kun intelligent driving solutions in the 2026 S07 and L07 models, to upgrading the brand slogan to “Left hand Deep Blue super range extension, right hand Huawei Qian Kun intelligence,” Deep Blue is accelerating its integration with Huawei’s intelligent driving systems.
The overseas market is seen as an important source of growth. By the end of 2025, Deep Blue had entered more than 70 countries and regions; the first European flagship store opened in Norway, registering over 1,200 orders in its first month. In January 2026, overseas sales surged year-on-year by 112.6%. According to the plan, the overseas sales target for 2026 is 100,000 units—for the annual target of 500,000 units, the importance of the overseas market is self-evident.
Since the beginning of this year, many new car makers have successively crossed the profitability threshold, causing subtle shifts in the industry landscape.
In contrast, Deep Blue still remains in the loss zone.
Public data shows that net profits from 2022 to October 2025 were -3.196 billion yuan, -3.107 billion yuan, -1.571 billion yuan, and -1.025 billion yuan respectively. Deep Blue accumulated losses of about 8.899 billion yuan over nearly four years. Although the annual loss has narrowed each year, a profitability self-cycle has yet to be formed.
Deng Chenghao is candid about this and has stated that in the future Deep Blue must “achieve a profitability self-cycle and decreasing debt ratio on its own.”
Since 2025, Deng Chenghao has repeatedly mentioned the “two-to-three-year window.” During this time, Deep Blue needs to turn from leading in technology to leading in the market, and grow from “Changan’s vanguard” into an “independent force in the global market.”
The rollout of one million electric drive systems and steadfast monthly sales of 30,000 units prove Deep Blue still tightly holds its ticket to the finals. But in 2026, as all new car makers start crossing the profitability tipping point, mere scale is no longer enough for survival.
As Changan’s “vanguard,” Deep Blue must turn its huge scale into tangible profitability, if it is to win the ultimate voice in this brutal elimination race.
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