King Long

King Long was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian. As a listed enterprise under the Fujian Provincial Automobile Industry Group, it is currently one of the world's leading bus manufacturing groups. The company specializes in the manufacturing and sales of large, medium, and light buses, with production and operational footprints in Xiamen, Suzhou, Shaoxing, Xi'an, and Shanghai. Its key subsidiaries include Xiamen King Long United Automobile Industry Co., Ltd. (King Long Bus), Xiamen King Long Travel Bus Co., Ltd. (King Long Bus), and King Long United Automobile Industry (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Higer Bus), alongside component manufacturers such as King Long Auto Body, Frame, Air Conditioning, Seats, Electrical, and Charging Stations (Piles). Together, these entities form an integrated bus industrial cluster encompassing both complete vehicles and parts. The company's product portfolio covers buses ranging from 4.3 to 18 meters in length, widely applied in passenger transport, tourism, public transit, group transport, and specialized vehicle markets, with sales reaching over 140 countries and regions across five continents.

Development History

King Long's development journey began in 1988, when Xiamen Automobile Industry Company was established, marking the inception of the bus manufacturing industry along China's southeastern coast. In May 1992, with approval from the Xiamen Municipal Commission for System Reform and the Finance Bureau, the predecessor company underwent a shareholding reform and publicly issued RMB ordinary shares through solicitation, leading to the official establishment of Xiamen King Long Automobile Group Co., Ltd. That same year, Xiamen King Long Travel Bus Co., Ltd. was founded, signaling the King Long brand's entry into the light and medium bus manufacturing sector.

The year 1995 marked a pivotal technological breakthrough for King Long. The company introduced Japan's Toyota fourth-generation "Hiace" model and adapted it based on the production standards of the FAW-Audi sedan line. The first King Long Hiace officially rolled off the assembly line. In the same year, King Long also completed a minibus production line and began manufacturing Coaster series products, gradually establishing a dominant position in the light bus market. At the end of 1998, King Long United Automobile Industry (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. was established, primarily overseeing Higer-branded large and medium buses, thereby expanding King Long's industrial presence into eastern China's high-end commercial vehicle manufacturing sector.

During the 2000s, King Long continued to advance technological upgrades and industrial integration. In 2008, King Long Bus invested nearly 200 million RMB to build China's first complete body cathodic electrocoating line for large buses, elevating its painting process to a domestically leading and internationally advanced level, and filling a gap in the domestic bus industry's high-end coating technology. That year, King Long Bus achieved annual production and sales of 25,800 units, generating sales revenue of 4.5 billion RMB—doubling early-stage figures and marking a leapfrog growth trajectory. In 2010, Suzhou King Long established the Higer Light Vehicle Division, embarking on a second phase of entrepreneurship and launching the "Higer Automobile" brand. In 2013, Suzhou King Long completed a new energy bus base with an annual capacity of 10,000 units, developed the GBOS smart operation system, and began transitioning from a traditional manufacturer to a commercial vehicle operation solution provider.

From 2018 onward, King Long made significant strides in the intelligent connected vehicle space. The group partnered with Baidu to jointly launch the world's first mass-produced Level 4 autonomous driving bus, "Apolong," taking an early lead in the unmanned driving sector. This model was subsequently put into regular operation across 45 cities and regions nationwide and successfully exported to the Middle East. Meanwhile, cumulative sales of King Long Bus's autonomous driving series exceeded 500 units, and its autonomous driving product system gradually matured. In recent years, the group has actively promoted the "Three Dragons Integration"—deepening business synergy and resource consolidation among King Long United, King Long Bus, and Suzhou King Long. In December 2024, King Long signed an agreement to acquire a 40% equity stake in King Long Travel. With the equity transfer now completed and the integration concluded, the group has laid an organizational foundation for overall cost reduction, efficiency enhancement, and gross margin improvement.

The year 2025 marked the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Leveraging its deep technical expertise and full-scenario product offerings, King Long received eight industry awards, including the "Bus Industry Brand Achievement Award." Its brand value continued to climb, exceeding 100 billion RMB, and it was selected into the Asian Brand 500 for two consecutive years—the only Chinese bus manufacturer to achieve this recognition. In 2026, the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the group continued to pursue new levels of development guided by the strategic framework of "Building Four Centers, Promoting Three Dragons Dancing, and Nurturing Four New Engines."

Product Lineup

King Long operates three core bus brands, with a product line that spans large, medium, and light buses as well as specialized vehicles, forming a comprehensive product matrix across high, medium, and low configurations:

King Long Bus (Xiamen King Long United Automobile Industry Co., Ltd.) is one of the group's flagship brands. Its products range from 4.3-meter minibuses to 18-meter articulated buses, holding significant positions in tourism, highway passenger transport, public transit, and group transport markets. Representative models include the MU12E smart city bus, which won the "New Energy Bus Recommended Model" award; designed for main urban routes and BRT systems, it features a 3500N·m high-power motor that balances performance and range. Another highlight is the King Long Autonomous Driving Bus A02, inspired by a "space capsule" design, which integrates the air conditioning system with the vehicle roof for aerodynamic efficiency. This model won the 2025 German Red Dot Design Award and represents a key achievement in King Long's Level 4 autonomous driving efforts. In the light bus segment, the King Long Light Bus series—including the Jinwei, Kairui, Kaige, and Kate models—covers diverse applications such as tourism, passenger transport, business receptions, box trucks, school buses, ambulances, and police vehicles, with options for gasoline, diesel, and pure electric powertrains. In 2026, King Long also launched the Robovan A3 unmanned delivery vehicle, equipped with an intelligent driving computing architecture delivering peak computing power of 256 TOPS, providing an autonomous last-mile logistics solution.

King Long Bus (Xiamen King Long Travel Bus Co., Ltd.), founded in 1992, currently has an annual production capacity of 20,000 large and medium buses and 25,000 light buses. Its product line covers buses from 4.8 to 18 meters in length, with seating capacities ranging from 5 to 86. The company's foundational model, the "King Long Hiace," launched in 1995 and developed based on Japanese Toyota technology, has undergone multiple iterations and now offers diesel, gasoline, pure electric, and CNG variants. The pure electric version, equipped with CATL battery packs, achieves an NEDC range of 240 to 300 kilometers. In recent years, King Long has continued to advance in new energy and intelligent driving. Its next-generation globalized Level 4 autonomous driving bus, "Chirui," features an independently developed steer-by-wire chassis and high-performance computing platform. Cumulative deliveries have exceeded 500 units, with over 2 million kilometers of operational mileage, serving scenarios such as shuttle transfers, park commuting, and scenic sightseeing, with exports to Switzerland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

Higer Bus (King Long United Automobile Industry (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.), established in 1998, now holds total assets of 8.2 billion RMB and has an annual production capacity of 20,000 commercial vehicle complete units and chassis. Higer primarily focuses on large and medium buses, covering passenger transport, public transit, tourism, and group transport, while also expanding into light vehicles, pickups, new energy trucks, and sanitation vehicles. With a brand value exceeding 100 billion RMB, Higer Bus has been listed on the "China Top 500 Most Valuable Brands" for many consecutive years and has received accolades such as "China Well-Known Trademark," "China Famous Brand," and "National Export Exemption Product." In intelligent driving, Higer's mass-produced Level 4 autonomous driving buses incorporate seven proprietary core technologies, including chassis steer-by-wire, and integrate HD cameras, LiDAR, ultrasonic radar, and intelligent decision-making systems. These vehicles have been demonstrated and operated in cities including Shanghai, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.

Market Performance

Financially, King Long Automobile has delivered strong results in recent years. For the full year of 2025, the company achieved total operating revenue of 24.547 billion RMB, up 6.89% year-on-year; net profit attributable to the parent company reached 468 million RMB, a significant increase of 196.90% year-on-year; and recurring net profit stood at 199 million RMB, turning a loss into a profit compared to the previous year. Entering 2026, growth accelerated further: in the first quarter, revenue reached 5.761 billion RMB, up 17.04% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to the parent company was 150 million RMB, a substantial rise of 220.77% year-on-year.

From a sales structure perspective, exports are the primary driver of King Long's performance growth. Total sales volume for 2025 was 51,253 units, up 2.29% year-on-year, with full-year exports reaching 30,320 units, a robust increase of 34.46% year-on-year. The gross margin for overseas business was 16.69%, up 2.51 percentage points year-on-year, compared to a domestic gross margin of only 6.42%, highlighting the significantly higher profitability of export operations. In the first quarter of 2026, exports continued their high-growth momentum, reaching 9,741 units, up 38% year-on-year, of which new energy exports accounted for 1,084 units, up 14% year-on-year. Profitability per vehicle also improved markedly: net profit per vehicle for 2025 averaged 9,000 RMB, up 190% year-on-year, and reached 13,500 RMB and 12,400 RMB in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, respectively, sustaining a high level of profitability.

In April 2026, King Long's production and sales data showed some fluctuations. Bus production volume for the month was 4,154 units, down 4.75% year-on-year, while sales volume was 3,439 units, down 4.76% year-on-year. By vehicle type, large bus sales fell 14.22% year-on-year, medium bus sales declined 34.78% year-on-year, while light bus sales increased 14.95% year-on-year. However, cumulative data from January to April shows that total bus sales reached 15,565 units, up 6.21% year-on-year, maintaining a positive growth trend.

Core Technologies

King Long has built a multi-tiered core technology system in new energy and intelligent driving.

In new energy, King Long has independently developed an integrated steer-by-wire chassis architecture oriented toward comprehensive electrification and intelligence. This architecture applies to the full commercial vehicle platform—from light buses and large/medium buses to heavy trucks—with multiple independently controlled technologies reaching internationally leading levels. The electric drive system employs permanent magnet synchronous motors; flat-wire technology increases slot fill rate by 15% to 25%, while oil-cooling technology boosts heat dissipation capacity by over 30%. Additionally, Silicon Carbide MOSFET devices replace traditional silicon-based IGBTs, significantly reducing conduction resistance and switching losses. Combined with an 800V high-voltage platform, this reduces vehicle energy consumption and enhances fast-charging capability. For power batteries, King Long uses CATL's next-generation BC5 Gen 2 products, which undergo rigorous testing including 1,350 hours of neutral salt spray, 850V high-voltage platform architecture, and vibration intensity twice the national standard, ensuring stability and reliability across the full lifecycle in terms of longevity, safety, and charging speed.

In intelligent driving, King Long is one of the first commercial vehicle companies globally to deploy Level 4 autonomous driving. In 2018, King Long and Baidu jointly launched the world's first Level 4 mass-produced autonomous driving bus, "Apolong." To date, cumulative sales of King Long's autonomous driving series have exceeded 500 units, with safe driving mileage approaching 7 million kilometers (King Long Bus Level 4 autonomous vehicles have accumulated over 3.2 million safe kilometers, and King Long autonomous vehicles have logged over 2 million kilometers in operation). King Long Bus's Level 4 autonomous driving product "Chirui" has undergone three rounds of technological upgrades, featuring millisecond-level response times and multiple redundant safety systems; steering, braking, and other critical systems all adopt heterogeneous redundancy designs. Suzhou Higer's Level 4 autonomous driving bus integrates perception equipment such as ultra-HD cameras, LiDAR, and ultrasonic radar, achieving comprehensive leaps in hardware integration and software algorithms. King Long has also launched the latest unmanned delivery vehicle, Robovan A3, which employs a BEV+Transformer+OCC multi-source fusion perception architecture for 360° all-region safety detection, and is equipped with an intelligent driving computing platform delivering peak computing power of 256 TOPS, thereby building a full-scenario autonomous driving product matrix spanning passenger transport to logistics.

In the hydrogen fuel cell sector, King Long has also made substantial breakthroughs. The company independently developed Fujian Province's first 100kW-class hydrogen fuel cell system, with a rated power of up to 125kW, and innovatively designed a fuel cell domain controller system for centralized hydrogen and electric vehicle management. In early 2026, King Long Bus facilitated the delivery of a hundred-million-RMB hydrogen fuel cell bus project in Guangzhou, accelerating large-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cell buses.

Global Footprint

Overseas markets represent King Long's fastest-growing business segment in recent years. Its products are sold to over 140 countries and regions across five continents, with sales networks spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East, Oceania, and more than 160 countries and regions.

At the start of 2026, King Long achieved a strong "good start" in overseas business. On January 8, Suzhou King Long signed an export order with Algeria for Higer buses totaling over 1.5 billion RMB, with a quantity of 3,000 units—the largest single export order in China's bus industry to date. Since the first batch of Higer buses entered the Algerian market in 2005, Suzhou King Long has cultivated this North African market for over 20 years, evolving from pure product exports to providing "Product + Service" system solutions and establishing localized KD (Semi-Knock Down) factories. Its market share has consistently ranked first, achieving a profound transformation from product output to full value-chain service delivery. Meanwhile, King Long Bus also made breakthrough progress in the Tunisian market. In early 2026, King Long successfully won a Tunisian procurement project for 462 buses—the largest government public vehicle procurement order in Tunisian history and a landmark transportation cooperation project between China and Tunisia under the Belt and Road Initiative framework.

On January 27, 2026, King Long and BYD signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly build an electric vehicle battery factory in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam. The project involves a total investment of 130 million USD, implemented in two phases. Phase I has an annual design capacity of 3GWh, primarily producing batteries for commercial vehicles (including electric trucks, electric buses, and box commercial vehicles); Phase II will expand capacity to 6GWh and initiate R&D and trial production of passenger vehicle batteries. The factory aims to achieve a localization rate of over 80% by the second quarter of 2026, helping Vietnam establish a battery and EV manufacturing cluster with economies of scale. Leveraging advanced battery technology from BYD, King Long also plans to develop a 34-seat pure electric sleeper bus in Vietnam, which will be the first of its kind in Vietnam and the Southeast Asian region.

Additionally, King Long signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Suzhou Aojie Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. to collaborate on R&D, manufacturing, and commercial vehicle supply chain development, aiming to enhance King Long's brand competitiveness and product positioning in the Vietnamese and broader Southeast Asian markets.

Future Outlook

As the 15th Five-Year Plan begins, King Long Automobile Group has formulated a clear development blueprint at its 2026 annual work conference. The group will focus on the core objective of "Achieving Comprehensive Management Improvement" and implement the strategic guidelines of "Building Four Centers, Promoting Three Dragons Dancing, and Nurturing Four New Engines." The "Four Centers" refer to the Technology R&D Center, Marketing Center, Supply Chain Management Center, and Overseas Business Center, designed to coordinate and optimize core functions at the group level. "Three Dragons Dancing" entails promoting deep synergy and differentiated development among the three core brands—King Long, King Long Bus, and Higer. The "Four New Engines" encompass new energy, intelligent connectivity, overseas markets, and after-market services as four new growth directions.

In the new energy sector, King Long will continue to pursue a diversified product strategy that integrates pure electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and battery-swapping technologies. At the same time, it will further deepen the application of integrated steer-by-wire chassis architecture in core technologies, driving commercial vehicle platforms toward full electrification. In intelligent driving, King Long will leverage its mature product experience from models like "Apolong" and "Chirui" to continuously refine its full-scenario autonomous driving product matrix—from passenger transport to logistics—and promote large-scale deployment in more segmented areas such as last-mile delivery, sanitation, and park shuttles.

On the international front, King Long will continue to strengthen its presence in key overseas markets, consolidating advantages in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, while accelerating expansion into high-end markets such as Europe. The EV battery factory project in Vietnam will serve as a key initiative for deepening overseas localized production and supply chain strategies. Domestically, with the continuation of incentive policies such as new energy bus trade-ins in 2026, the domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to see a gradual recovery in confidence. In terms of products, King Long will intensify its boutique strategy, precisely aligning with market demand, and continuously develop benchmark products with competitive advantages. By polishing the "Made in King Long" brand image, the company aims to advance from a "China Leading" position toward the strategic goal of "Global Leadership."