The national automotive team returns to the center of the table.

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Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

For a long time, the discourse surrounding China’s automotive industry was dominated by a specific narrative: private enterprises were the trailblazers, new forces in car-making were the disruptors, while the massive central state-owned enterprises were stuck with the label “an elephant hard to turn around.”

In that era of “speed is everything,” the outside world scrutinized automotive SOEs with a critical eye, believing they were sluggish amidst the new energy wave.

However, this stereotype was shattered at the end of 2025.

On December 26, as a Dongfeng Mengshi M817 slowly rolled off the production line, it marked Dongfeng Motor’s annual new energy vehicle sales reaching one million units. In the words of Dongfeng Motor’s General Manager and Deputy Party Secretary Feng Changjun, today “brings double happiness.” Dongfeng Motor achieved one million annual new energy vehicle sales, and the first batch of 10,000 Dongfeng Mengshi M817 vehicles rolled off the line. This signifies that a long-underestimated “national team” in China’s automotive industry sent a resounding “return to form” signal to the market.

When the “elephant” not only completes its turnaround but begins to sprint at full speed, the underlying logic of the industry shifts. In China’s auto market in 2026, it will no longer be a solo show for new forces or companies like BYD and Geely. As the “national team,” armed with scale effects and new system advantages, returns to center stage, the market competition is heading in a new direction.

Even more importantly, Dongfeng Motor has achieved dual milestones in new energy vehicle and self-owned brand sales, both reaching two million units. This year, Dongfeng Motor’s self-owned brand sales surpassed 1.5 million units, a 12% year-on-year increase, accounting for 63% of total sales.

Dongfeng delivered a well-layered “combo move.”

The Mengshi brand directly penetrated the luxury electric off-road segment. The Dongfeng Mengshi M817 features four core technologies—Rock Solid Chassis, Mengshi Intelligent Off-road All-Terrain System, Extreme Power, and Armor Body—that have broken consumers’ stereotypes of Dongfeng as the maker of “mass-market cars.” This also showcases SOEs’ engineering and manufacturing capabilities under extreme conditions.

In the high-end new energy market, Voyah (Lantu) positioned itself as “the leading high-end new energy brand among central and state-owned enterprises.” In 2025, Voyah sales exceeded 300,000 units, with the jump from 200,000 to 300,000 units taking only seven months, demonstrating “national team” speed. In their product lineup, the Voyah Dreamer was the monthly sales champion in the high-end MPV segment in both October and November; the “twin stars” of Voyah FREE+ and the new Voyah Zhiyin were released in succession. Their broad success across SUV, MPV, and sedan markets proves that SOEs now possess brand premium power to compete with emerging forces.

In the mainstream volume market, Dongfeng is no longer passive. Dongfeng Yipai targets the fiercely competitive 150,000–250,000 yuan range, going toe-to-toe with BYD Han, Seal, and Tesla. Thanks to launches like Nano 06, 2026 Nano 01, eπ008 five-seat edition, and Fengshen L8, Yipai Technology achieved over 30% growth.

On the technology front, Dongfeng showed the determination of “engineering minds.” For hybrids, Dongfeng Mach Power’s engine thermal efficiency has surpassed 48.09% and is striving for 50%, offering strong energy consumption advantages for PHEV and range-extended models; Dongfeng’s in-house solid-state batteries have been demonstrated over 1.5 million km, with a maximum range above 1,000 km; In 2025, Dongfeng launched the “Tianyuan Intelligence” technology brand—its Tianyuan Smart Cockpit has integrated the full DeepSeek Large Language Model series, and Dongfeng Motor’s “Tianyuan OS” officially open-sourced the industry’s first “cross-domain middleware” product covering the AP standard middleware.

Additionally, Dongfeng’s reach now extends globally. Facing intense domestic competition, Dongfeng Motor exported over 240,000 vehicles from January to November 2025. The “Let’s VOYAH” strategy has taken root in Europe, entering over 40 countries including Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany. The Dongfeng Mengshi 917 has even appeared on the streets of Dubai and Switzerland. This ability for “blossoming inside, fragrant outside” is something that many carmakers relying solely on export trade cannot match.

Dongfeng Motor achieving one million annual new energy vehicle sales means that the logic of industry competition is also changing.

Previously, advanced intelligent driving was the moat for new forces. But as Huawei ADS4.0 is adopted in Voyah and other models, and with Dongfeng Tianyuan architecture in place, intelligence is rapidly becoming standard. Car companies are now tested not just on technical leadership, but on systematic capabilities in channels, after-sales, and more.

As the industry generally predicts a brutal “knockout stage” in 2026, systematic capability will be key to victory, and SOEs like Dongfeng Motor possess this strength.

Moreover, according to Wallstreetcn, in 2026 Dongfeng Motor’s integrated die-casting industrialization project will officially begin production, including the world’s largest 16,000-ton production line. This means Dongfeng can manufacture 200,000 lightweight parts annually, giving it stronger pricing power through reduced component count and manufacturing costs.

For overseas markets, Dongfeng Motor will accelerate its “global localization” in 2026. With the launch of the Malaysia KD project and the rollout of the S01 validation vehicles at the Egypt factory, Dongfeng Motor is systemically expanding abroad. In future competition, the national team will bring China-defined standards, technology, and supply chain advantages to reshape the global value chain.

The giant ship has already turned; its bow points to the deep sea. In the coming 2026, we may witness a Dongfeng that is calmer, more confident, and aggressive. This is not only a reshaping of market structure, but also the inevitable path for China’s automotive industry to grow from “big” to “strong.”

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