Heavy-duty truck sector enters new growth era

Heavy-duty truck refers to cargo vehicles with the load capacity over 15 tons. The industry is small. Even in the peak season, the domestic market capacity is only 500,000 odd sets, and there are only 20 around manufacturers in China. Except those manufacturers in the first legion such as SINOTRUCK, Dongfeng, Jiefang have an annual output over 100,000 sets, Shaanxi Automobile Group, Auman of over 50,000 sets, Beiben, Hongyan of 20,000 sets, other manufacturers only produce around 10,000 or thousands sets of trucks annually. According to the technological features, modern trucks must have the top 4-gate cam, common rail, and variable geometry turbocharger and rear transmission. However, Chinese heavy-duty truck industry is just beginning along this road. SAIC-Iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. has begun to overall introduce the world's most advanced heavy-duty truck manufacturing technologies and march for the goal of comprehensively improving the R&D and manufacturing of the heavy-duty trucks in China near two years later than its establishment.

There was a "blank" for SAIC in the fields of the manufacturing of commercial vehicles including truck in the past. While after SAIC acquired Nanqi, the commercial vehicle brand Iveco cooperated by Nanqi and Fiat gives SAIC an opportunity to fill this "blank". Subsequently, SAIC-Iveco Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. and Chongqing Heavy-Duty Truck Co., Ltd. joint reorganized Chongqing Hongyan Automobile Co., Ltd., and the three parties jointly founded a joint venture-- SAIC-Iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd., and also built a new production base in Chongqing. The base included also SAIC Fiat Powertrain HongYan Co., Ltd., a joint venture invested and set up by SAIC-Iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle Corp., Chongqing Heavy-Duty Truck Co., Ltd. and Fiat Powertrain Technologies, which is another subsidiary of Fiat. The two factories kept their independent brand "Hongyan" and jointly produce the complete series of GENLYON heavy-duty trucks and C9 engine.

Why SAIC chose Hongyan which ranks the seventh in the industry, rather than another more powerful partner? There must be some reasons.

The full name of the "Hongyan factory" is Chongqing Hongyan Automobile Co., Ltd., the former Sichuan Automobile Factory. Founded with emphasis investment of the state in 1965, it was the first heavy military off-road vehicle production base with a comparatively high starting point in China. It was a typical "tertiary-industry" factory with the factory area built in the valley. In 2000, it was reorganized to be Chongqing Heavy-Duty Truck Group with Sichuan Automobile Factory as the parent company. In 2003, two domestic investment companies jointly set up Chongqing Hongyan Automobile Co., Ltd. based on Chongqing Heavy-truck. "Hongyan" has over-40-year experiences in producing heavy-duty truck. It has introduced Berliet Technology and Steyr technology successively, and it possesses the right to use the two brands of "Hongyan" and "Steyr". Its products cover 25 large series, as Xindakang and Bawang, and over 1,000 types, the load capacities of which range from 5 to 60 tons. Over 30,000 complete trucks are produced per year and sell to the domestic and international markets. With its unique assembly and parts advantages of steering gears and axles, its sales network covers the whole country and over 30 countries and regions. Hongyan automobile enjoy good reputation in the heavy-duty truck market for its firmness and quality. Hongyan is one of the top 500 strongest Chinese industrial enterprises and has ever been being as one of leading enterprises in the industry.

SAIC not only thinks highly of the corporate advantage, product advantage, market potential, distributing network and supportive advantage of Hongyan, it thinks higher of the enterprising spirit of Hongyan people. Hongyan People have owned a unique character of toughness and pro-activity, which makes the company keep rare faith and valuable tradition of serving the customers whole-heartedly.

Such an enterprise can undergo any tests of market. Shrewd SAIC saw this point and chose Hongyan decidedly as its partner to help create its R&D and production career of modern heavy-duty truck. The new company moved its base to the city. Since the establishment, the three cooperative parties created a favorable united working environment after the short period of co-adaptation. They try their best to "be the success model of commercial vehicle field in China", create the brand-new heavy-duty truck platform in China and lead the new industrial reforms. People, who have visited Hongyan's new factory, watched its new products and learn about the history of SAIC and Hongyan will all be confident - their dream will come true.