State-owned FAW Jiefang pledges to invest US$4.6 billion building electric vehicle research bases, zero carbon-emissions factory

The commercial arm of China’s oldest carmaker said it aims to deliver half a million new-energy vehicles a year by 2035 – 70 per cent of its total sales

Move will ‘reinforce our push for a leading position in the pure-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell technologies,’ says chairman Hu Hanjin

2-MIN READ2-MIN

FAW Jiefang has pledged to spend 20 billion yuan to build a global research chain and 10 billion yuan to establish a zero carbon emission factory. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:30pm, 30 Sep 2021Updated: 10:43pm, 30 Sep 2021

FAW Jiefang, the commercial unit of China’s oldest carmaker, has upped the ante in the eco-friendly vehicle segment by pledging to spend 30 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion) on research facilities across four countries and a base for fuel-cell vehicle systems.

The company based in Changchun, in northeastern China’s Jilin province, said it aimed to deliver half a million new-energy vehicles a year by 2035, which would make up 70 per cent of its total sales.

“FAW Jiefang will reinforce our push for a leading position in the pure-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell technologies,” chairman Hu Hanjin said in a statement. “We are laying out a comprehensive strategy that encompasses research and development, production and ecosystem to ensure that we will grasp leading technologies.”

The company said it would deliver 120,000 green vehicles in 2025, a fifth of its total sales, jumping to 320,000 units in 2030, which would account for half of its sales by that time.

Its parent, state-owned FAW Group, one of the mainland’s three largest domestic automotive companies, is the local partner of Toyota and Volkswagen.

Its iconic Red Flag car is an instantly recognisable symbol of Chinese Communist Party might.