Original | Li Jun

On July 16, GAC Group's 30 millionth vehicle officially rolled off the production line at the Trumpchi factory in Panyu, Guangzhou. The model is the right-hand drive version of the Trumpchi M8 PHEV. Thus, GAC has become the fifth automotive group in the country to achieve 30 million vehicles rolling off the production line, following FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng, and Changan.

This roll-off ceremony adopted a form of synchronized connection across global production bases. GAC Honda P7, GAC Toyota bZ7, Qijing GT7, GAC Aion N60, and GAC Hyper S600 served as the 29,999,995th to 29,999,999th vehicles respectively, completing the roll-off sequentially at factories in various locations. The four product lines of Joint Venture, Independent, High-end New Energy, and Smart Selection Cooperation appeared simultaneously at this milestone node, intuitively presenting the results of GAC's current electrification and intelligence transformation. As the milestone vehicle for the 30 millionth unit, this right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV was delivered to Thai kung fu actor Tony Jaa on-site, sending a clear signal that GAC will make the overseas market the growth focus of the next stage.

GAC Group was established in 1997. It took 20 years from the first vehicle rolling off the line to the cumulative 10 millionth. It took only 9 years from 10 million to 30 million. Its development path can be roughly divided into four stages: Early on, Honda and Toyota systems were introduced through joint ventures to establish an industrial foundation; In 2010, the Trumpchi brand was launched, officially beginning the independent vehicle building journey; Around 2020, Aion and Hyper entered the new energy track; In 2024, joined with Huawei to create the Qijing brand, gradually forming a "Joint Venture—Independent—Intelligent—Ecosystem" business landscape.

From the perspective of operational data, in the first half of 2026, GAC Group's cumulative sales reached 773,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 2.35%. Energy-saving and new energy vehicles accounted for 62.82%. The independent segment sales were 346,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 35.69%; independent brand exports reached 121,500 units, a year-on-year growth of 132%, approaching the full-year export scale of 2025. Behind this growth is the gradual release of the effectiveness of the "Panyu Action" reform. After launching this reform at the end of 2024, GAC promoted the integrated operation of its independent brands, shifting product development thinking from engineer-oriented to user-oriented, and product iteration efficiency has been significantly improved.

Supporting the 30 million user base is GAC's systematic capability covering the entire chain of R&D, production, safety, and service. According to GAC, on the development end, every new car must go through a complete verification cycle of "Two Winters and One Summer", with the shortest being 18 months and the conventional 21 months. At the same time, it passes the "Five Highs, One Mountain, One Dust" extreme environment assessment, covering 60°C Turpan high temperatures, -40°C Hulunbuir extreme cold, high altitude, high humidity, high salt mist, mountainous complex road conditions, and desert sand environments. The cumulative equivalent test mileage per vehicle exceeds 13 million kilometers. The Aion Intelligent Ecosystem Factory, known as the "World's First New Energy Lighthouse Factory", equips its welding workshop with over 600 industrial robots and an AI vision detection system, achieving millisecond-level response and millimeter-level precision, with production data for key fastening points of the whole vehicle supporting lifetime traceability.

At the safety technology level, the Clip Battery has cumulatively equipped 1.5 million vehicles, and vehicles equipped with this battery have cumulatively traveled safely over 160 billion kilometers. The Star Guard Safety System has served nearly 2 million users, cumulatively preventing potential accidents 6.28 million times. In December 2025, the three major independent brands under GAC, Trumpchi, Aion, and Hyper, launched the "Three Responsibility" service commitment. Three scenarios—powertrain spontaneous combustion, battery degradation exceeding limits, and smart parking accidents—were included in the manufacturer's coverage scope, extending quality assurance from delivery to the full usage cycle.

Regarding R&D investment, as of the end of 2025, GAC's cumulative independent R&D investment exceeded 62 billion yuan, with a global R&D team exceeding 6,800 people, cumulative patent applications over 24,900, including over 11,200 invention patents. The Southern Test Center officially launched in March this year is the first large-scale comprehensive test center approved for airspace usage in the country, capable of meeting testing needs for intelligent connected new energy vehicles and low-altitude aircraft across multiple fields.

In terms of channel construction, as of the end of June 2026, GAC has completed the certification of 600 county-level outlets and plans to build 1,000 county-level authorized stores within the year. The "9 Verticals 10 Horizontals" charging network covers 213 cities across the country, with over 27,000 self-operated charging piles, achieving a guarantee of "a station within a 1km straight line in core urban areas."

At the level of overseas layout, GAC is promoting the "OneGAC 2.0" strategy, pushing overseas business from a single product export model to full value chain localization operation covering R&D, production, supply chain, and sales. Its international business has already covered 110 countries and regions in five major sectors: Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Americas, Europe, etc. It has built over 746 sales service outlets, 7 overseas production factories, and 9 overseas parts warehouses.

According to the 2030 development goals announced by GAC Group, at that time its business will enter 120 countries and regions globally, build over 2,000 overseas outlets, and achieve overseas annual sales of 1 million vehicles.

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On July 16, GAC Group held a 30 million user appreciation event, officially welcoming the delivery of the 30 millionth vehicle, with the right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV delivered to Thai owners as a milestone model, while multiple brand-new new energy vehicle models rolled off the line simultaneously, directly demonstrating the results of the brand's electrification transformation.

Production and sales data validate development resilience; in the first half of 2026, GAC's total sales reached 773,100 vehicles, up 2.35% year-on-year; new energy vehicle sales increased by 68.8% year-on-year, overseas exports totaled 120,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 132%, making the overseas market a new growth engine.

For a long time, GAC has taken quality as its core bottom line, creating a quality management system that integrates the advantages of Chinese and Japanese automakers, with whole vehicles completing thousands of rigorous validations. The Star Spirit safety system and Puck Battery build a driving safety barrier, and the independent brand's pioneering three-responsibility service policy eliminates users' concerns about new energy vehicle usage.

The service side continues to improve channel and energy replenishment layout, adding thousands of county-level stores within the year, building a national integrated energy replenishment network, with tens of thousands of supercharging piles facilitating owner travel. The event officially announced the launch of the Renewal Gratitude Season, with GAC Honda, GAC Toyota, Trumpchi, Aion and other six brands introducing car purchase return policies.

On the technology front, GAC has cumulatively invested over 62 billion yuan in R&D funds, creating self-developed core technologies such as Star Source Power, Quark Electric Drive, and Star Spirit Smart Architecture, laying out all-solid-state battery production lines, and collaborating with multiple tech enterprises to build a smart mobility ecosystem. In the future, GAC will continue to deepen quality, users, technology, and globalization four major sectors, accelerating the upgrade to an ecosystem-oriented tech enterprise.

July 16, GAC Group officially welcomed the important milestone of cumulative deliveries reaching 30 million units, simultaneously launched the Gratitude Reward activity for 30 million users across all brands. 29 years of deep cultivation in the automotive track, from zero start to earning the trust of 30 million users, this outstanding achievement is both the result of GAC's adherence to long-term qualityism and a true microcosm of the high-quality development of the Chinese automotive industry.

Earning the long-term choice of 30 million car owners, the core foundation lies in GAC's consistent rigorous quality control system. All new cars must complete the "two winters and one summer" long-cycle extreme testing before launch, also travel to high-temperature, extreme cold, high-altitude, sand and dust, and other "five highs, one mountain, one dust" full-scenario verification; relying on a global integrated vehicle wind tunnel, domestic high-standard comprehensive test fields and AION global new energy lighthouse factories, GAC achieves digital control of the entire link of design, testing, and production, hundreds of industrial robots in the welding workshop paired with AI visual inspection, data for thousands of body fastening points is traceable throughout their lifetime, guarding manufacturing precision from the source.

In terms of safety, GAC has built a perfect full-domain protection system. Danxia Battery cumulative installation reached 1.5 million units, cumulative mileage surpassed 160 billion kilometers; Star Spirit Safety Guard system since going online, cumulatively avoided 6.28 million potential driving risks. Industry-first "Three Responsibilities" service commitment, targeting tri-power self-ignition, battery excessive degradation, intelligent parking accident three core user concerns provides bottom-line guarantee, paired with high-standard cage body, high proportion of high-strength steel, integrating safety throughout the vehicle's full lifecycle. Long-term rigorous quality control has also received authoritative recognition, GAC won the China Quality Award Nomination Prize, multiple brands under it have occupied the forefront of sub-segment depreciation rates and quality lists for years.

Sustained huge R&D investment is the confidence behind GAC's continuous quality advancement. As of the end of 2025, GAC's independent R&D cumulative investment exceeded 62 billion yuan, total patent applications surpassed 24,900 items, invention patents exceeded 11,200 items. Star Spirit Architecture 4.0, Galaxy Smart Cockpit, Star Source Power, Starship Body four independent R&D core technologies fully implemented, at the same time partnering with Huawei Qiankun to create high-end smart models like Qijing GT, achieving collaborative breakthroughs in intelligent driving, cockpit, and power technology, balancing household comfort and frontier technology, allowing users with different budgets to enjoy high-standard products.

If hardcore quality is GAC's internal foundation, then the systematic globalization strategy is the enterprise's second growth curve. Different from simple complete vehicle exports, GAC relies on the "One GAC 2.0" strategy, achieving overseas rooting of R&D, production, supply chain, and sales service full value chain, thoroughly getting rid of the traditional overseas mode of simply selling cars. Currently, GAC's business covers Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Americas, Europe five major sectors totaling 110 countries, established 7 overseas production bases, 9 parts warehouses, 746 overseas sales service outlets, a complete localized operating system helps products adapt to regulations and user needs in various countries.

The momentum of overseas market growth is rapid, in the first half of 2026, GAC's independent brand export volume reached 121,500 vehicles, up by 132% year-on-year, half-year sales have approached the 2025 full-year level. Regional markets blooming in multiple points, Thailand market June sales month-on-month increase reached 207%, Europe market new energy models are steadily landing, sales of models in Americas countries such as Brazil, Colombia increased multiple times. Facing the long term, GAC has set clear globalization goals: in 2030 business coverage will cover 120 countries, overseas offline outlets will exceed 2,000, annual overseas sales to hit 1 million units, to allow "GAC Intelligent Manufacturing" to continuously expand global market share.

To reward 30 million global car owners, July 16 to August 31, GAC subsidiaries GAC Honda, GAC Toyota, GAC Trumpchi, AION, Hyper, Qijing six brands simultaneously launched car buying benefits, direct price drop on new purchase, low-interest finance, high-value trade-in, family add-on purchase multiple benefits stacked, covering fuel, hybrid, pure electric, range-extended full category models, multiple main models simultaneously went off the line in domestic and overseas factories, key products like Qijing GT7, Trumpchi M8 PHEV, AION N60 focused appearance, intuitively demonstrating GAC's full matrix product strength.

Looking back at 29 years of development, GAC experienced four leapfrog upgrades: joint venture start, independent rise, electric intelligent transformation, global ecosystem expansion, 30 million units delivery milestone is not the end, but a brand new starting point. In the future, GAC will continue to adhere to fine craftsmanship quality long-termism, continuously increasing investment in independent R&D of core technologies, simultaneously deepening full value chain globalization layout, going global with reliable products and perfect services, continuously polishing the business card of Chinese automotive industry intelligent manufacturing.