Six-Month Battle, What Did Dongfeng Shares Get Right? | Truck Friend Network

By the midway point of 2026, the commercial vehicle market is in turmoil. As the "fuel-to-electric transition" moves from consensus to the deep water zone, testing the execution capability of every enterprise, as a domestic established light commercial vehicle enterprise, Dongfeng Shares is giving its own answer with a report card of comprehensive success.

In the first half of this year, Dongfeng Shares showed explosive growth trends on multiple business routes: New Energy Light Trucks year-on-year surged 573.4%, Dongfeng Freeton jumped 153.9% year-on-year, overseas exports grew 81.4% year-on-year, Dongfeng Travel Cars grew 40.6% year-on-year, and the Casting Factory grew 68% year-on-year. In addition, as a strategic unmanned logistics vehicle product, Dongfeng OpenVAN is also about to join this matrix, further strengthening the company's market competitiveness...

Numbers are silent, but arranged together, they have the power to tell a story. Running 573.4% against a 65% industry new energy growth rate, and 81.4% against an approximate 10% export market growth rate. This is not following the trend, but leading against it. From the near-vertical rise of new energy products, to the rapid expansion of overseas footprint, to the emergence of a new brand, this report card reflects a clear path of a traditional car enterprise completing strategic restructuring and energy switch during the period of major industrial changes.

Breaking down Dongfeng Shares' performance in the first half of the year, new energy light trucks are the biggest highlight. The year-on-year growth of 573.4% can be called "phenomenal" data. It means Dongfeng Shares' growth in this track is not linear climbing, but jumping explosion.

From Dongfeng Qiankun "Wide-body Pure Electric Light Truck K6E" range breaking 350 km, to Dongfeng Dolicar "D6E Battery Swap Light Truck" supporting 3-minute ultra-fast battery swap and reducing 30% purchase cost through "Vehicle-Battery Separation" mode, paired with high-capacity, 2C fast-charging batteries cooperating with CATL, the rapidly advancing product matrix is fully covering core scenarios such as urban distribution, cold chain, and sanitation. This is not simple "fuel-to-electric conversion" piecing together, but forward development starting from user value.

On March 28, Dongfeng Qiankun series positioned as "Pioneer of China's Efficient Fresh Food Transportation" officially launched, staging the scene of "selling well upon listing". On the launch day, it received 128 vehicle orders. Added to lifetime warranty on ten core components, three-year replacement policy (no repair) and other service policies, it quickly established a foothold in high-value markets such as Green Channel and cold chain.

Integration requires more wisdom than fragmentation. Merging two rivers into one torrent requires not only courage but also unshakable certainty about the direction. Still in March, the original two VAN vehicle brands "Ruidida" and "Yufeng" were integrated and upgraded into a new brand "Dongfeng Freeton" to quickly release integration dividends.

Year-on-year growth of 153.9% in the first half, with May single month soaring 442.1% year-on-year. The V8E of the New Energy Camp has a maximum range of 400 km, power consumption as low as 13.8 degrees per 100 km, cargo box capacity 7.3 cubic meters, starting from 91,500 yuan; the V10 of the Fuel Camp has fuel consumption as low as 5.7 liters per 100 km, starting from 101,000 yuan. The brand plans to launch 36 new models within the year, fully covering various niche markets.

The greatness of a river does not lie in where it originates, but whether it can reach a farther sea. Currently, for Chinese commercial vehicle enterprises, going overseas is no longer an optional question, but a mandatory one. In the first half of this year, Dongfeng Shares overseas exports entered the fast lane. Behind the 81.4% export performance growth year-on-year, is the deepening of the enterprise's global layout.

In Africa, the Egyptian dealer flagship store opened; in Southeast Asia, Malaysia received 200 commercial vehicle orders; in Oceania, it landed in the Australian right-hand drive market for the first time; in Latin America, it won 108 orders for Dongfeng Freeton pure electric VANs. By the end of 2025, the global sales and service network has exceeded 1,000, truly moving from "going global" to "taking root".

Behind the bright performance is the dual drive of external opportunities and internal transformation.

From a national level perspective, in the first half of the year, our country continued to implement preferential tax policies for new energy vehicles, and a package of policies such as the "2026 Car Trade-in Subsidy Implementation Rules" accelerated the elimination of old fuel trucks, making new energy light trucks change from "optional" to "mandatory option" in some scenarios. From a local level perspective, more and more cities give new energy trucks right-of-way advantages such as no driving restrictions. For urban distribution, express delivery, and fresh food delivery industries, right-of-way is order-taking capability, which constitutes the hardest driving force for "fuel replacement with electricity".

From a market level perspective, domestic new energy light trucks accumulated year-on-year growth of more than 30%, and the overall market prosperity provided a solid base for growth.

The direction of the tide is certainly important, but whether to ride the wind and waves ultimately depends on the firmness of the ship itself and the helmsman's decision. If policy and market are "Heavenly timing and geographical advantage", then Dongfeng Shares' own transformation is "Harmony among people".

Strategically, the company firmly promoted "Fuel and Electricity Simultaneously", not passively waiting for market transition, but actively arranging dual-line products. From Dongfeng Qiankun to Dongfeng Freeton, both adopted "Fuel and Electricity Dual Line" strategy, both taking over the fuel vehicle existing market and seizing the new energy incremental cake.

Hard power of products is the underlying logic supporting all growth. Technically, years of accumulation began to release in concentrated form. Whether it is K6E's 350 km range, D6E's 3-minute battery swap, or V8E's 400 km range and 13.8 degrees power consumption per 100 km, behind it are results of long-term coordination with core partners such as CATL and Dongfeng Cummins. It is worth mentioning that in the first half of this year, not only did Dongfeng Shares see a surge in sales of light vehicle products, but other business segments also showed good development trends. Dongfeng Qingfa sales surged 89% year-on-year, Dongfeng Cummins sales grew 18% year-on-year, Dongfeng Castrol grew 10.6% year-on-year...

On channels and organization, the Marketing Headquarters subdivided by customer groups into Light Truck, Small Truck, VAN vehicle divisions, achieving "Integrated Fuel and Electric Sales", letting those who hear the gunfire command the battle. It is worth noting that in just the first half of this year, Dongfeng Shares attracted over 100 quality new partners to join the network, greatly improving channel density.

On brand, moves were decisive. In March, the two VAN vehicle brands were integrated into Dongfeng Freeton to avoid internal horse racing, allowing R&D and marketing resources to form a combined force, and unifiedly attacking the strategic goal of "Top two in total sales in the light commercial vehicle industry, Number one in new energy sales in the industry". At the same time, a new high-end light truck brand Dongfeng Qiankun was launched, precisely cutting into high-value niche markets such as Green Channel and cold chain. Dual brands each performing their duties, the brand matrix is clearer.

The perspective of observing Dongfeng Shares is not only about how many cars it sold, but also how it tells its own story. Such changes at the perception level started from narrative method...

Sinking to the front line, the new PR department team plucked those vivid "Moments of Trust" from the full value chain, weaving wealth creation stories of customers into brand testimonials, making cold hard industrial products have human warmth. A "Central Kitchen + All-station Positions" content team not only records every aspect of the company but also deeply explores new ways of play for AI technology and IP matrix. From "Dongfeng Freeton" brand integration launch to overseas export long voyage, from "Dongfeng Tuye" launch to "Guo Jing and Huang Rong" themed float parade, to appearing at "China Brand Global Tour", what we see is no longer the taciturn vehicle-building craftsman of the past, but a game breaker who knows how to converse with the era.

Looking back at Dongfeng Shares' first half of 2026, a clear main line is visible: this enterprise is undergoing a systematic transformation from inside to out. It firmly embraces the new energy explosion window, using 573.4% growth rate to prove transformation can have both speed and texture; it dares to break the old pattern, letting the integrated brand emit new life; it accelerates going overseas, moving from product trade to deep diving into the value chain. When the industry enters the new cycle of "Incremental Competition turning into Stock Game + Structural Transformation", the systematic combat capability it demonstrates may be the true confidence to through the cycle and continuous evolution.