30 Million Vehicles Milestone Reached, Stop 'Bashing' GAC

On July 16, a right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV drove off the production line at the GAC Trumpchi factory, marking the official delivery of GAC Group's 30 millionth vehicle. From its establishment in 1997 to this moment, GAC took 29 years. This figure of 30 million makes GAC the fifth domestic auto group to achieve this scale, following FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng, and Changan.

But the true protagonist of this gratitude event is not numbers, but a question of an era: when the Chinese auto industry shifts from 'availability' to 'quality', when joint venture dividends fade, the rise of independent brands and global shifts intertwine, how does an auto group with a 29-year history make the daring leap from scale expansion to value transformation?

Industry 'Stalling', GAC Achieves Structural Growth

The 2026 Chinese auto market is undergoing an unprecedented deep adjustment. CPCA data shows that retail volume for passenger cars nationwide in the first half totaled about 8.7 million, down over 20% year-on-year. The fuel vehicle market is shrinking rapidly, and the new energy penetration rate maintained a high level after breaking through 63% in May. The cake is shrinking, and the distribution method is being restructured.

Against this background, GAC delivered a highly contrasting performance report: the group's first-half sales reached 773,100, up 2.35% year-on-year. The number may not be large, but the gold content of the counter-trend growth lies in the deep structural changes—the sales ratio of energy-saving and new energy vehicles reached 62.82%; new energy vehicle sales grew 68.8% year-on-year; independent brand cumulative sales reached 346,000, up 35.69% year-on-year.

Specifically by brand, the Aion and Hyper Business Unit's cumulative sales for the first half reached 181,600, up 67.08% year-on-year, with C-end users accounting for over 80%. The significance of this figure goes far beyond the surface—the Aion brand, once labeled with 'B-end tags', is completing a turn from the king of ride-hailing to the private consumer market. Aion i60 monthly sales continue to break 10,000, and Aion N60 has delivered over 10,000 units since listing at the end of April. The Hyper S600 listed in June, anchoring the new luxury segment.

Trumpchi's first-half sales were 164,400, up 12.36% year-on-year. The MPV family's cumulative sales broke 880,000, with June sales growing 36% year-on-year. In the independent brand MPV market above 150,000 RMB, Trumpchi has established an unshakable benchmark status. The Trumpchi M6 MAX, Aspire E8 PHEV, and Aspire M8 PHEV L were launched successively, with the product matrix continuously ascending.

Overall, GAC's growth is no longer a simple stacking of scale, but a profound structural gear shift. Independent brands are taking over as the main engine of growth, new energy is replacing fuel to become the new foundation, and the overseas market is opening a second growth curve.

30 Million Base, Quality is the Bottom Line That Cannot Be Sacrificed

At the event site, Feng Xingya said one sentence: "Quality is the bottom line GAC will never sacrifice." This sentence carries a heavy weight on the 29-year timescale.

GAC's 30 million vehicles were not piled up by marketing scripts, but by a management system integrating Honda's total quality management, Toyota's lean production methods, and Lingnan culture.

Before each new car launches, it must undergo extreme environment testing of "Five Highs, One Mountain, One Dust", complete "Two Winters, One Summer" field road tests, covering 12 major items of the whole vehicle and over 1,500 verification sub-items. The Xingling Safety Guard System has served nearly 2 million users, cumulatively avoiding 6.28 million potential travel risks; the Magazine Battery has cumulatively installed 1.5 million vehicles, with a safe driving mileage of over 160 billion km. These numbers are more convincing than any marketing language.

Feng Xingya's other sentence is also worth noting: "In the past, we always polished technology from the engineer's perspective; today, we must completely stand from the user's perspective."

To this end, GAC established a dedicated user insight department to promote full-process change from problem discovery to resolution. The "User Full Mic" activity invites owners to the company for face-to-face exchanges. The plan is to add 1,000 county-level authorized stores this year. The "Super Butler" service promises 5-second response and 2-hour completion. The "9 Verticals 10 Horizontals" charging network covers 31 provinces and 213 cities nationwide.

The 30 million vehicle base is safety, quality, and more importantly, awe for users. This awe appears particularly scarce in the industry's breakneck era.

Global Manufacturing Foundation + Local Intelligence, Build Competitive Barriers

The dilemma of the joint venture sector is a reality GAC must face. But GAC's response strategy is not passive waiting, but active restructuring.

GAC Toyota remained relatively stable against the trend; Platinum Wisdom 3X cumulative terminal sales broke 110,000, refreshing the speed for joint venture new energy models to reach this record. Localization development is becoming a key variable for the joint venture sector to break through. GAC Honda's June sales grew 55.65% month-on-month, and the new Breeze became Honda's first model equipped with the smart car machine jointly built with Huawei Cloud. In 2027, GAC Honda will launch 3 new products, covering three major fields of fuel, hybrid, and new energy.

More importantly, GAC did not treat joint ventures and independent brands separately. At the end of June, GAC and Huawei Qunkun jointly created the new high-end brand "Qijing". Its first model GT7 listed, with 24-hour confirmed orders breaking 5,200. The Qijing GT7 is equipped with Huawei's six automotive intelligence solutions, being the first to carry Huawei Qunkun Autonomous Driving ADS 5. A new generation intelligent six-seater SUV Qijing GX7 will also be launched in the second half of the year.

The combination of "Huawei Empowerment + GAC Manufacturing" is a clear move GAC made in the deep waters of intelligence. It reveals a deeper logic: between joint ventures and independent brands, GAC is building a new capability—integrating global manufacturing foundations with China's local intelligence ecosystem to form a unique competitive barrier.

6.2 Billion RMB R&D Investment, Exchanged for Technical Depth

30 million is a node, but not the end. GAC's next journey, technology is the core driver.

So far, GAC's cumulative R&D investment exceeds 62 billion RMB, with a global R&D team exceeding 6,800 people. Patent applications exceed 24,900, having preliminarily completed the leap from single-point technology breakthrough to a systematic technology system.

In the power field, Xingyuan Power covers three technical routes of extended range, plug-in hybrid, and super dual擎，to be equipped in more vehicle mass production. The all-solid-state battery pilot production line has been built. The Quark Electric Drive Motor's maximum efficiency broke 99%, the highest level in the industry.

In the intelligent networking field, the Xingling architecture continues to evolve, connecting six major systems of intelligent driving, cockpit, power, chassis, body, and vehicle networking, with comprehensive performance improved by 40%. The Xinghe Smart Cockpit realizes end-cloud integration, making the car a "thinking, understanding heart" partner.

GAC's domestically first "Automotive Chip Application Ecosystem Co-construction Plan" has partnered with 105 ecosystem partners, completing the joint definition development and application verification of nearly 400 chips. The Hyper GT Climbing Edition launched in May this year has achieved 100% localization of chip design.

Feng Xingya said that GAC has transformed from a traditional auto enterprise into a technology enterprise. The 62 billion investment is not only the stacking of funds, but also an expression of strategic focus—in the noisy industry changes, GAC chooses to respond to market volatility with technical depth.

The 30 millionth vehicle choosing the right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV is itself a meaningful signal; this vehicle was delivered to Thai owner Tony Jaa. The story GAC wants to tell is no longer just a Chinese one.

In the first half of the year, GAC's independent brand export volume reached 121,500, up 132% year-on-year, already close to last year's full-year level. International business now covers five global sectors, 110 countries and regions, building over 746 sales service outlets, 7 overseas production factories, and 9 overseas parts warehouses. GAC's cumulative overseas export total has broken 540,000.

Feng Xingya revealed that by 2030, GAC's goal is to enter 120 countries and regions globally, layout 17 KD factories, build over 2,000 outlets, and achieve annual sales of 1 million.

29 years ago, GAC started from joint ventures, taking root in the Chinese market with others' technology and brands. 29 years later, GAC went global with independent brands and technology. The delivery of the 30 millionth right-hand drive M8 PHEV to a Thai owner is a metaphor of an era: the Chinese auto industry is moving from selling products to exporting systems and standards.

30 Million is a Mark and Also a New Starting Point

Standing on the threshold of 30 million, looking back, the road GAC walked is almost a microcosm of the Chinese auto industry—from joint venture start to independent rise; from the fuel vehicle era to comprehensive transformation of new energy and intelligence; from local deep cultivation to global layout.

But GAC's uniqueness lies in it always maintaining a rare strategic focus. In the industry's frenzy, it did not drop the bottom line of quality; when joint ventures were under pressure, it did not give up investment in independent brands; in the pain of transformation, it gave its own answer with 62 billion in R&D investment and the systematic reform of "Panyu Action".

The new GAC that has entered the 30 million+ era, the story continues. And this long-termism narrative about faith and change may be another annotation of the Chinese auto industry going from large to strong.