Since deploying overseas in 2004, Sinotruk has always maintained its position as the “top exporter” in China’s heavy-duty truck industry. In the 21st year of its overseas journey, Sinotruk has delivered another brilliant new report card. At the Sinotruk 2025 Global Partners Conference held on October 18, Sinotruk released a set of data:
From January to September, Sinotruk achieved a total revenue of 22.89 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%; total vehicle sales reached 335,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%. Among them, heavy-duty truck export sales were 111,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 24.5%. Today, Sinotruk’s products have spread across 6 continents, more than 150 countries and regions, with a global market ownership exceeding 1 million units.
What enables Sinotruk to always stand at the forefront and continue to make waves? Let’s find the answer from this latest report card.
“Stability” in Navigating Against the Wind
A ship sails thousands of miles amid surging tides.
In recent years, the international competitive landscape has been restructured at an accelerated pace, with tariffs, technical, and environmental barriers becoming increasingly high. As more and more automakers deploy overseas, problems in the domestic market such as low-price competition and excessive homogenization have become increasingly prominent. How to control risks, maintain competitiveness, and achieve sustained profitability is a “core question” that pioneers and leaders like Sinotruk must face at all times.
Take Vietnam as an example. Currently, Vietnam is in a period of rapid development with accelerated urbanization and large-scale infrastructure construction, resulting in huge rigid demand in the truck market. Up to now, Sinotruk has built 35 joint warranty service stations in the Vietnamese market, with its sales and after-sales service network covering the entire country. Supported by this mature network system, in September, Sinotruk joined hands with its Vietnamese dealer to hold a roadshow across six major cities in Vietnam. Relying on its excellent product quality and long-term reputation, it finally secured more than 800 orders. By 2030, Sinotruk plans to expand the number of overseas distribution channels to 400 to provide more convenient services for global customers.
Different countries have different cultures and conditions, and “acclimatization” is a common problem for enterprises going overseas. Sinotruk’s solution is to take “localization” to the extreme, continuously extend the service chain, and provide customers with full-life-cycle solutions. In its cooperation with a Vietnamese company, in the face of Vietnam’s extremely harsh weather, Sinotruk not only ensured delivery but also organized training activities for local maintenance and driving personnel, effectively ensuring the stable operation of the vehicles afterward.
With the increase in global market ownership and the upgrading of customers’ consumption concepts, the after-sales market is showing huge development potential. Sinotruk attaches great importance to the construction of the after-sales market and has systematically launched businesses such as vehicle financing, fleet management, and used vehicle replacement and repurchase. From January to September this year, Sinotruk’s after-sales parts sales revenue increased by 59% year-on-year. At this Global Partners Conference, Sinotruk launched customized oil products, tires, and other parts for the global market for the first time. In the future, it will also build 63 parts central warehouses overseas and pre-position 50 million US dollars worth of parts, launching more accurate and flexible parts service policies for global customers.
To achieve “stability” in going overseas, an enterprise must not only “win in the front line” but also “have sufficient support in the rear”.
On the eve of the National Day, Sinotruk’s Laiwu Factory was in a busy scene. They received a notice that an African customer urgently needed vehicles for autumn production, with a tight delivery cycle. After the sales department received the task, the factory responded immediately, with the production line working overtime to manufacture, and the vehicle warehouse department on duty 24 hours a day to deliver the vehicles. It kept its promise to the customer with “Sinotruk speed”. This is a “sales-production” linkage rapid response mechanism established by Sinotruk specifically for customers.
Currently, Sinotruk has 10 major vehicle production bases in China, with a maximum monthly production capacity of 30,000 heavy-duty trucks. The construction of intelligent factories is an important reason for Sinotruk’s production capacity improvement. Taking Sinotruk’s Laiwu Factory as an example, it has China’s first AGV flexible assembly line and a Dürr painting line comparable to that of high-end passenger cars, and has built a “dark factory” with fully automated cab welding. In the future, Sinotruk plans to build more lean, intelligent, and green “lighthouse factories”, promoting the automation rate of key processes to more than 60%.
Today, international orders account for more than half of the Laiwu Factory’s business. With the recovery of demand, the booming domestic market has also added confidence to Sinotruk’s overseas expansion. During the just-concluded Double Festival holiday, Sinotruk’s domestic orders totaled more than 6,700 units. The two markets support and promote each other, forming a virtuous cycle of “walking on two legs” in the domestic and international markets.
“Progress” in Braving Winds and Waves
When sailing against the current, if you don’t advance, you will retreat. Localization of marketing and services is just the “first move”; to achieve new growth, continuous efforts are needed.
In traditional advantageous markets such as Vietnam and Nigeria, Sinotruk has deepened marketing reforms, gradually extending its sales and service outlets to second- and third-tier cities and remote areas. By sinking the network and improving the parts supply network, it has greatly increased market coverage and customer reach.
In the Philippines, Sinotruk invested in the construction of an assembly plant. On September 5, the first vehicle successfully rolled off the production line. The plant meets the needs of localized assembly and production of chassis and cargo boxes, effectively shortening the delivery time and providing more options for dealers. According to statistics, from January to September, Sinotruk’s sales in the African market and Southeast Asian market increased by 37.4% and 41.5% year-on-year respectively. Currently, Sinotruk has 30 operating KD (knock-down) factories worldwide, and its production capacity is expected to reach 100,000 units by 2030. Localized manufacturing projects in countries such as South Africa and Brazil are also accelerating their preparation.
To meet the diverse needs of international customers, Sinotruk has carried out localized R&D of products. In Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco, engineering vehicles produced by Sinotruk are among the best-selling models. Local customers said that compared with models produced in Europe, Sinotruk’s vehicles are more in line with their needs, with high cost-effectiveness and efficient services, giving them prominent advantages. In the next five years, Sinotruk plans to invest more than 4 billion US dollars in R&D funds, build a professional R&D team of more than 8,000 people, and set up separate overseas product R&D institutions to develop customized products.
While expanding its own market base, Sinotruk also takes the initiative to expand into “new routes”. From January to September, Sinotruk’s sales in the Middle East market increased by 28.7%, and the high-end market also achieved rapid development.
In recent years, relying on its excellent product quality, industry-leading technical strength, and unique design, Sinotruk has shined at international events and exhibitions. The newly upgraded Huanghe heavy-duty trucks at the Hannover Messe in Germany, the HOWO ultra-high-definition broadcast vehicles at the Asian Winter Games, and the Sitrak trucks at international competitions have all left a deep impression on global audiences. Leveraging its advantages in heavy-duty truck exports, Sinotruk will further expand its business in light trucks, mining trucks, pickups, and VANs, truly establishing a strong product matrix covering the full range of commercial vehicles.
Sinotruk has also performed brilliantly in fields such as new energy and intelligent driving. From January to September this year, Sinotruk’s new energy vehicle sales increased by 300% year-on-year. Currently, Sinotruk’s new energy solutions cover multiple technical routes such as pure electric, hydrogen energy, and hybrid power, with continuous innovative breakthroughs in key core technologies such as three-electric (battery, motor, electronic control) technology and vehicle technology. Sinotruk will continue to focus on the electrification, intelligentization, and low-carbon revolution, continuously launching new energy products that better meet market needs, accelerating the mass production of L2+ and L4-level intelligent driving technologies, and deeply engaging in cutting-edge fields such as intelligent cockpit development and human-machine intelligent interaction to continuously build new competitive advantages.
“Red Veins” Global: Activating Momentum
To avoid getting lost, you need a compass; to sail steadily, you need a ballast stone.
In the tide of comprehensively promoting high-level opening up, the Party Committee of Sinotruk Group has thoroughly implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the Party building work of state-owned enterprises, actively promoted the construction of Party building brands, and successfully built a Party building brand pattern of “one branch, one brand; one branch, one feature”. The Party Committee of Sinotruk International Company has closely focused on the deployment of the Group’s Party Committee, taking the construction of the “Red Veins Global” characteristic Party building brand as an anchor, and continuously transforming the Party’s political advantages and organizational advantages into the competitive advantages and development momentum of the enterprise in exploring the international market. “Red” represents the unswerving political background, demonstrating the core strength of Party building leadership; “Veins” refers to the vertically and horizontally extending organizational roots, which not only means the three-dimensional coverage of Party organizations in the global market but also implies the market network of heavy-duty trucks sold worldwide.
The Party Committee of the company has always adhered to the principle of “where business expands, Party organizations are established”, and has now built a global organizational system: 8 general Party branches for overall coordination and 25 Party branches for implementation, jointly promoting the in-depth development of grassroots Party building work and giving full play to the fighting fortress role of Party organizations. Among them, 21 overseas Party branches directly serve the front line of the overseas market, 4 rear Party branches provide solid support, and more than 270 Party members, like “red sparks”, are spread across major market regions around the world, realizing the full coverage and whole-process leadership of Party organizations over overseas business.
“Being able to be deployed, rush forward, and win battles” is a clear requirement of the “Red Veins Global” brand for Party member backbones, and it is also the conscious action of all overseas Party members. Focusing on the needs of overseas business, the Party Committee of the company has continuously deepened the campaign of “cultivating pioneers in daily work, striving to be pioneers in key tasks, and relying on pioneers in emergencies”, making Party members the “leaders” in market development and the “vanguards” in overcoming difficulties. The permanent overseas staff of Sinotruk International Company spend an average of more than 250 days abroad each year. They are far from their hometowns and rooted in foreign lands, writing the struggle chapter of Sinotruk people in foreign countries with the spirit of a “steel team and tiger-wolf force”.
“We Are One”
Facing the complex global market, simply competing on products and prices is a thing of the past; the ability to fight as an organization and system is the key to breaking the deadlock. If enterprises can form a “fleet” through alliance and fight together, they can more calmly resist market fluctuations and seize more development opportunities. This is precisely the advantage of the “large group” of Shandong Heavy Industry Group.
Sinotruk closely focuses on the “1+N” brand matrix of Shandong Heavy Industry Group and conducts organic linkage with sister enterprises. From jointly participating in international exhibitions and concentrating on displaying the Group’s full-industry-chain and full-business-segment product strength, to sharing technology and channel resources in market development, coordinating to serve customers and provide integrated solutions, it not only effectively avoids homogenized competition but also forms scale and agglomeration effects through complementary resource advantages, releasing stronger comprehensive competitiveness.
If “internal coordination” is the “1.0 basic version” of enterprises going overseas, then the in-depth cooperation between Sinotruk and external partners is the “2.0 upgraded version” of “win-win cooperation through industrial chain integration”. As the “chain leader” enterprise of Shandong’s automobile industry chain and a leader in China’s heavy-duty truck industry, Sinotruk has always adhered to the concept of equality, mutual benefit, and win-win, giving full play to its industry influence and resource integration capabilities. It has taken the initiative to reach agreements on coordinated overseas development with upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, while deeply “integrating” global top resources and cooperating closely with many world-renowned strategic suppliers. Through resource sharing, coordinated research, and joint innovation, it has built a safe, stable, responsive, and industry-leading cooperation ecosystem, truly making the supply chain a “win-win chain”.
A Larger “Circle of Friends”
In late September, Sinotruk’s first officially authorized exhibition hall was grandly opened in Benghazi, an important port in Libya.
Currently, Libya is in a critical period of reconstruction, with urgent demand in fields such as engineering construction and logistics transportation. The newly completed exhibition hall integrates functions such as product exhibition, business negotiation, and after-sales service, and can provide one-stop solutions for local customers. Sinotruk also plans to build facilities such as a KD factory, a parts center, and a training center locally, continuously injecting momentum into Libya’s reconstruction and further contributing to its economic recovery and social development.
The road of going overseas is by no means just a simple flow of products and services, but a process of establishing connections and in-depth interaction between people. Relationships with warmth are more magnetic and sticky, which can attract more and more people to join the “circle of friends” and gather strong synergy.
Sinotruk deeply understands this. While providing high-quality products and services to local areas, it also actively participates in various undertakings to improve the local production and living environment and drive industrial transformation and upgrading. This year, with the support of the Kazakhstani government and the Karaganda Oblast government, Sinotruk established Salan Machinery Co., Ltd. The new factory will be equipped with Kazakhstan’s first electrophoretic metal processing production line, which will not only effectively improve the local technical infrastructure level but also create up to 1,000 jobs, bringing tangible benefits to local people.
In addition to promoting the localization of marketing, services, and production, Sinotruk also spare no effort to promote talent localization, making every effort to cultivate outstanding talents with international perspectives and cross-cultural communication capabilities. This year, Sinotruk held the first foreign trainer training camp at its headquarters. After returning to their home countries, these foreign trainees will bring the advanced knowledge they learned at Sinotruk to contribute wisdom and strength to the development of their respective countries. In the future, Sinotruk will also build 100 new training centers, continuously providing high-quality talents for the global commercial vehicle industry.
“Rushing” to a Vaster Distance
Holding the great Dao, the world will follow.
On October 18, Sinotruk held the 2025 Global Partners Conference, with 620 partners from 97 countries and regions gathering in Qingdao to jointly celebrate this development event.
At the conference, Sinotruk predicted that its heavy-duty truck export sales will exceed 150,000 units this year, setting a new historical high. At the same time, Sinotruk firmly proposed that by 2030, it plans to export 250,000 heavy-duty trucks, 100,000 light trucks, 50,000 light vehicles, and 3,000 mining trucks, with an overseas after-sales market revenue target of 1 billion US dollars.
It can be seen from the latest report card that the key to Sinotruk’s ability to “always stand at the forefront” and dare to challenge higher “waves” lies in breaking out of the “involution” cycle of zero-sum games and using incremental thinking to open up new prospects: digging deep into competitiveness internally and seizing new opportunities externally to achieve organic coordination between internal and external aspects; rejecting short-sightedness, focusing on long-term development, and achieving a dynamic balance between short-term benefits and long-term value; adhering to open cooperation, pursuing mutual benefit and win-win results, and achieving symbiosis and common prosperity between individuals and the whole.
With clear goals, correct directions, and decisive actions, Sinotruk “becomes stronger through trials and braver through storms”, thus riding the wind and waves and moving forward steadily.
This year is a crucial year for the decisive completion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and the layout of the “15th Five-Year Plan”. Facing the new journey, Sinotruk will firmly promote the five transformations of “greenization, digital intelligence, servitization, internationalization, and diversification”, taking hard work as the boat and struggle as the sail, and making every effort to push the construction of a manufacturing power to a new level. This is not only a commitment to the century-old Sinotruk but also the most powerful response to the cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation.
