Dongfeng welcomes a new "operator": veteran finance executive appointed as general manager

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Author | Wang Xiaojuan

Editor | Chai Xuchen

Executive changes at large central state-owned automobile groups often signal significant shifts in corporate strategy.

On October 11, Dongfeng Motor Corporation held an expanded leadership meeting, appointing 47-year-old Feng Changjun as Director, General Manager, and Deputy Party Secretary of the company, relieving him from his position as Chief Accountant.

This appointment ended an eight-month vacancy in the position of General Manager at Dongfeng Motor.

According to his personal profile, Feng Changjun is an executive with a strong financial background. Before joining Dongfeng in 2020, Feng’s career was closely tied to China South Industries Group Corporation. He started in entry-level finance positions, serving successively as Deputy Director of the Financial Department of South Industries Group, Deputy General Manager of the Financial Co., Ltd. of the Group, and General Manager of Chongqing Auto Finance Co., Ltd.

In June 2020, Feng was transferred from Director of the Financial Department of China South Industries Group to Dongfeng Motor Group as a member of the Party Standing Committee and Chief Accountant. At that time, he was only 42 years old, becoming the youngest Standing Committee member in Dongfeng and one of the youngest vice executive positions in central SOE automotive companies. Now at 47, he has become the youngest General Manager among the three big central SOE automakers (FAW, Dongfeng, Changan).

Feng’s appointment comes at a crucial period as Dongfeng Motor advances its capital restructuring and new energy transition, drawing significant attention to this personnel change.

During his tenure at Dongfeng, Feng’s most representative work was leading the listing of Voyah Auto on the Hong Kong stock exchange. In August this year, Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. announced that its subsidiary Voyah Auto would be listed in Hong Kong via introduction, and Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. would complete privatization and delisting simultaneously.

Voyah, Dongfeng’s premium intelligent new energy vehicle brand, submitted its application for listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 2, marking the substantive stage of its IPO. This capital operation is of strategic significance for Dongfeng Motor.

Previously, Dongfeng Motor (parent company of Dongfeng Motor Group shares) stated that, affected by pains of industry transformation and other factors, the valuation of Dongfeng Motor Group has performed low in recent years, with its stock market value long below net assets. As of July 31, 2025, Dongfeng’s total market cap was HK$39.12 billion, closing at HK$4.74 per share, with a PB ratio of only 0.25. Due to this valuation, Dongfeng Motor Group has not carried out any equity refinancing since its listing and has virtually lost the financing function of an H-share platform.

In the face of this situation, letting Voyah Auto stand for Dongfeng in getting revalued in the capital markets has become Dongfeng’s key strategy. Through Voyah's IPO and the privatization-delisting of Dongfeng Motor Group, Dongfeng Motor will reshape its capital markets image and open up independent financing channels for its new energy business. Feng’s professional skills demonstrated during this process undoubtedly played a crucial role in his promotion.

However, Dongfeng Motor, now under Feng’s helm, faces multiple challenges. Sales data shows that Dongfeng's sales have shrunk by nearly 60% from its peak of 4.2767 million units, with full-year sales in 2024 at only 1.8959 million units. Sales further dropped to 823,900 in the first half of 2025, with a year-on-year decline widening to 14.7%.

In the new energy sector, Dongfeng’s performance is equally less than optimistic. Although total new energy vehicle sales reached 681,000 units in the first nine months of 2025, self-owned brand presence in new energy remained low. Apart from Voyah, sub-brands like Dongfeng Nano and eπ have failed to gain market traction, revealing shortcomings in technological iteration speed, cost control, and channel operations.

Recently, Dongfeng has made a series of adjustments. In June, Dongfeng established eπ Technology to integrate three self-owned brands: Aeolus, eπ, and Nano. In September, it set up Leap Creation Technology to integrate its group components divisions. These moves aim to optimize resource allocation, but the effectiveness of integration remains to be tested in the market.

This year, Dongfeng’s partnership with Huawei has fully evolved in both depth and breadth. Their collaboration now covers sub-brands such as Mhero, and they have jointly established an innovation lab, giving future new models more leverage for the market.

Feng’s appointment also breaks the auto industry’s traditional top management selection pattern. For a long time, heads of domestic automakers have mostly been promoted from technical or sales lines. Appointing a financial expert signals Dongfeng’s strategic focus is tilting toward capital operations and refined management.

As the auto industry enters a phase of integrated development of "technology + management + capital," Feng’s financial background and capital operation experience perfectly fit Dongfeng’s urgent current needs. His leadership throughout the Voyah IPO ensures continuity for this crucial strategy.

The combination of Feng Changjun and Chairman Yang Qing forms a "veteran technician + financial expert" leadership team. Yang Qing, who has grown up within Dongfeng, boasts 35 years of experience, rising from technician to group chairman. This complementary partnership is expected to meet the dual demands of strategic continuity and refined financial management.

This personnel arrangement also reflects the evolution of talent selection standards in central SOEs. In the deep phase of industry transformation, diversity of professional backgrounds has become a key criterion for forming executive teams, and the value of financial-background executives has been re-evaluated.

Currently, the challenges faced by this new general manager far exceed his responsibilities as chief accountant. With the progress of Voyah’s IPO, the privatization and delisting of Dongfeng Motor Group, and the integration of its brand resources, Feng’s financial expertise matches Dongfeng’s pressing need for capital operation and refined management.

In recent years, traditional automakers emerging from transformation have been returning to the main stage in both voice and sales, beginning to show their ability to weather cycles. Next, it remains to be seen how Dongfeng will script its own return to the peak.

Risk warning and disclaimerThe market involves risks, and investments need to be made with caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and has not considered the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether the opinions, views, or conclusions in this article fit their own circumstances. Investment decisions made accordingly are at their own risk. ```