Amid the global wave of accelerated transformation toward intelligence and greenization, China’s commercial vehicle industry is undergoing a new round of development and reform. On January 24, 2026, a grand launching ceremony for the commissioning of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ D600 Smart Factory and the roll-off of new products, themed “New Production Line, New Mission, New Journey”, was held at Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ Intelligent Body Manufacturing Plant in Shiyan City. This not only represents a leapfrog breakthrough in production capacity and technology for Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, but also marks a strategically significant step in its transformation toward high-endization, intelligence and electrification.
Strategic Takeoff: New Production Line Takes Shape, New Benchmark for Intelligent Manufacturing Officially Commissions
At the ceremony, Liu Licheng, General Manager of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd.; Zhou Zhiyong, Member of Standing Committee of Shiyan Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor; and Wang Jun, Member of Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., delivered speeches respectively.
Liu Licheng extended a warm welcome to the leaders and guests present, and expressed sincere gratitude to governments at all levels, industry associations, partners, media friends who have cared for and supported the company’s development for a long time, as well as Dongfeng colleagues working in various positions. He stated that the commissioning of the D600 whole-vehicle smart factory and the roll-off of new products are important milestones for the company at the conclusion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and the start of the “15th Five-Year Plan”. The D600 whole-vehicle smart factory interprets the era proposition of “intelligent manufacturing + green development” and sets a benchmark for the industry’s transformation and upgrading. The new D600 product born here integrates Dongfeng’s core achievements in intelligent platforms, three-electric systems and other fields, and continues Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ brand commitment of “Everything Originates from Reliability”. Standing at a new development starting point, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles will always adhere to the mission of “serving the country through industry and self-reliance through science and technology”, take the commissioning of the D600 whole-vehicle smart factory as an opportunity, and work with partners to promote industrial transformation, upgrading and high-quality development.
“Dongfeng Motor Group has always been Shiyan’s most solid and reliable strategic pillar, and the most trustworthy partner through thick and thin!” Zhou Zhiyong emphasized in his speech. The official commissioning of the D600 Smart Factory and the roll-off of new products not only mark a new leap in Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ manufacturing technology, but also set a new benchmark for the transformation and upgrading of advanced manufacturing in Shiyan City. He stressed that Shiyan was built and prospered because of automobiles, and is fully committed to building a green manufacturing city and striving to become China’s commercial vehicle capital. The Shiyan Municipal Party Committee and Government will always adhere to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, continuously strengthen policy supply, factor guarantee and supporting services, fully support Dongfeng Motor Group to expand its layout and innovate development in Shiyan, and jointly promote Dongfeng Motor to create greater brilliance in the new journey of the “15th Five-Year Plan”.
Wang Jun thanked leaders at all levels of Hubei Province and Shiyan City, as well as all partners. He pointed out that the official commissioning of the D600 Smart Factory is an important achievement in implementing the national new-type industrialization and manufacturing power strategy, and also the latest fruit of joint efforts between the government and enterprises. Shiyan is Dongfeng’s “hometown”, the birthplace and important base of Dongfeng’s cause. The landing of the smart factory in Shiyan will effectively promote the leapfrog development of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ business and inject new momentum into the agglomeration and development of the automobile industry in Shiyan. He noted that the new generation strategic platform D600 product undertakes the important mission of creating Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ comprehensive leading new advantages and will become a strong support for Dongfeng to achieve the goal of “four industry firsts”. Facing the “15th Five-Year Plan”, Dongfeng Motor Group will adhere to the direction of intelligence, greenization and integration, accelerate the comprehensive revitalization of the commercial vehicle business, and make greater contributions to local economic and social development.
Witnessed by all present, the launching ceremony of “Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles D600 Smart Factory Commissioning and New Product Roll-off” kicked off. Twelve guests from Hubei Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Shiyan City and Dongfeng Motor Group jointly pressed the launch device, officially lighting up the future of commercial vehicle intelligent manufacturing. At the same time, two brand-new D600 Dongfeng Tianlong KH commercial vehicles slowly drove out. The simultaneous appearance of “new factory + new car” marks the full completion of the new benchmark for intelligent manufacturing, and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles has entered a new stage in the field of high-end manufacturing.
As the world’s largest single-unit medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle smart factory, it has a total investment of 1.838 billion yuan and covers an area of 670 mu. It is equipped with 288 robots working in coordination, including China’s first commercial vehicle roof laser welding line. Welding and painting processes achieve 100% automation. Integrating cutting-edge technologies such as digital twin and AI quality inspection, it realizes full-process visual management and control from parts entry to whole-vehicle roll-off, with production efficiency 30% higher than that of traditional factories. With the official commissioning and operation of the project, a more efficient, intelligent and green new era of commercial vehicle manufacturing has arrived.
Zheng Hua, Liu Licheng, Zhang Xiaofan, Wang Jun, Feng Changjun, Yang Qing, Wang Yonghui, Yu Ke, Li Shaohua, Wang Xiaodong, Zhao Zhe, Cai Xianzhong (from left to right)
Inside the vehicle, Wang Jianqing and Zhang Yongxing, national model workers from Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ whole-vehicle factory, jointly lit up the car lights, symbolizing the perfect integration of Dongfeng’s craftsman spirit and innovative technology, and highlighting Dongfeng’s brand concept of “Everything Originates from Reliability”.
After the launch ceremony, the participating guests visited the welding workshop to experience the charm of intelligent manufacturing firsthand. They observed the application of intelligent equipment such as robotic arms and AGV logistics trolleys up close. During the visit, the guests highly praised the factory’s highly intelligent and digital production process as well as the green and environmental protection technologies throughout. The comprehensive integration and innovative application of new equipment, new technologies, new materials and new processes vividly interpret Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ meticulous pursuit of reliability.
Intelligence Empowers: A Model of “Green Factory”, Leading the Upgrade of the Commercial Vehicle Industry
The commissioning of the D600 Smart Factory is not only a manifestation of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ intelligent manufacturing strength, but also a benchmark project for Shiyan City’s digital transformation and intelligent manufacturing. The project covers three core workshops (welding, painting and assembly) and supporting facilities of the smart park. After completion, it can roll off one body every 87 seconds on average, with an annual output of 260,000 vehicles and an output value of 6 billion yuan. While achieving a significant improvement in production efficiency, it can also reduce carbon emissions by 1,000 tons per year, bringing remarkable environmental benefits.
The D600 Smart Factory is built with a new full-platform modular approach. In R&D, it breaks the limitations of traditional “fuel-to-electric conversion” and constructs an energy architecture compatible with multiple options including fuel, gas, pure electric battery swapping and hybrid power, enabling rapid expansion of more than 100 vehicle models. With “green environmental protection, flexibility and efficiency” as the core, the factory integrates 102 “four new” technologies (new technologies, new products, new processes, new materials), and builds six major intelligent manufacturing systems including highly flexible production lines, high-automation equipment and high-reliability quality. The production line technology reaches the international leading level. This means that more refined production, stricter quality control and higher quality reliability will directly and significantly improve Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ production and operation level, supporting Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ brand upgrading strategy.
At the same time, the landing of this project is of far-reaching significance for Shiyan City and the entire commercial vehicle industry. For Shiyan City, it will give full play to the leading role of the leading enterprise, attract the agglomeration of upstream and downstream enterprises, help Shiyan form a complete high-end body intelligent manufacturing industrial chain, drive the upgrading of the regional economic structure, and strongly support the construction of Shiyan’s “one main, three major and five new” modern industrial system and regional central city. For the commercial vehicle industry, the intelligent manufacturing system of “safety + efficiency + green + intelligence + transparency + refinement” explored by it provides a practical model for the industry’s intelligent transformation and green low-carbon development, and has important leading and demonstration value.
Value Innovation: New Journey of Efficient Logistics, Redefining New Standards for Heavy Trucks
With the completion of the commissioning ceremony, the Dongfeng Tianlong KH tractor officially enters the mass production stage, marking that the new generation of products has the ability of stable delivery. In fact, as early as the Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles 2026 Partner Conference, the Dongfeng Tianlong KH tractor has made a stunning appearance, attracting wide attention with its innovative technology and novel design.
As the first strategic model produced by Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ D600 Smart Factory, the Dongfeng Tianlong KH is developed based on the sixth-generation new platform. Through full-platform modular development and aerodynamic design, it achieves a significant reduction in energy consumption and a remarkable improvement in comfort, and also achieves comprehensive progress in power performance, safety and intelligent connectivity. At the same time, the vehicle has undergone rigorous tests of more than 5 million kilometers and 300,000 hours, with a single vehicle test intensity exceeding 2 million kilometers, reaching the industry leading level.
The comprehensive upgrade of Dongfeng’s new generation products from the outside to the inside is a new answer sheet handed over by Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles on the road of technical maturity and product refinement. It not only redefines the new standards for heavy truck performance and quality, but also brings customers an integrated transportation solution integrating efficiency, reliability, comfort, safety and economy, demonstrating its strength and responsibility in leading the commercial vehicle industry towards a new era of green intelligence.
Currently, as the national “14th Five-Year Plan” is successfully concluded and the “15th Five-Year Plan” is fully launched, this activity is of important connecting significance. It is not only the landing of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles’ new production line, but also a vivid practice of its active response to national strategies and seizing opportunities for industrial transformation. In the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan”, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles will take the D600 Smart Factory as a fulcrum, comprehensively promote the transformation of commercial vehicles toward intelligence, greenization and high-endization, and inject strong momentum into the high-quality development of China’s commercial vehicle industry. In the future, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles will continue to deepen innovation, rely on the advanced manufacturing capacity of the new factory, provide customers with smarter, greener and higher-quality products, and work with customers to create a new future of the commercial vehicle industry in the new era.
