Detailed Explanation of Shaanxi Automobile Group's Brands: From Sinotruk to Holding Company – Understand in One Article

“Those who follow my country’s heavy-duty truck market are certainly familiar with the Shaanxi Automobile brand. However, we often hear about Shaanxi Heavy Truck (Shaanxi Heavy Truck), Shaanxi Commercial Vehicle, Shaanxi Automobile Group, and Shaanxi Automobile Holding, which can be confusing. What exactly is the relationship between these ‘Shaanxi Automobile’ companies? This article will clarify this for you.”

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Shaanxi Automobile: A Fruit of the Third Front Construction

Speaking of the Third Front Construction, those familiar with my country’s modern industrial development will likely recognize its significance. In the 1960s and 70s, the Third Front Construction laid a solid industrial foundation for Southwest, Northwest, and Central my country. Famous companies like Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group were established during this period.

Shaanxi Automobile, a star enterprise in my country’s heavy-duty truck market, is also a fruit of the Third Front Construction. In 1968, the First Ministry of Machine Building decided to establish the Shaanxi Automobile Manufacturing Plant, with the site chosen in Lixigou, Qishan County, Baoji City. In 1969, with strong support from Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Nanjing Automobile, and Hangzhou Automobile Engine Plant, Shaanxi Automobile officially broke ground.

In 1970, Shaanxi Automobile Group (Shaanxi Auto) developed its first Yan’an 250 heavy-duty off-road vehicle, marking the beginning of its rapid development.

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Shaanxi Auto’s Alliance and Independence

In 1980, led by Shaanxi Automobile Manufacturing Plant, and in conjunction with Shaanxi Automobile Manufacturing Plant (Shaanxi Auto) and Sichuan Automobile Manufacturing Plant (Chongqing Hongyan), both heavy-duty truck manufacturers, the China National Heavy Duty Truck Industry Joint Venture Corporation (CNHTC) was established.

At this time, CNHTC was a large central enterprise and the core of my country’s heavy-duty truck manufacturing. Following the alliance, in 1983, CNHTC introduced Steyr 91 series heavy-duty truck technology from Steyr GmbH of Austria. This technology was shared by Shaanxi Auto, Hongyan, and Jinan Heavy Duty Truck, enabling joint production of Steyr heavy-duty trucks.

With the support of Steyr heavy-duty truck technology, the three major heavy-duty truck manufacturers under CNHTC made significant progress in the 1980s and 1990s, even becoming synonymous with Chinese heavy-duty trucks.

However, after entering the new century, Steyr heavy truck technology had become outdated, and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (CNHTC) Joint Venture Company also suffered losses, reaching as high as 8 billion yuan annually. In 2000, CNHTC was officially split up, with its three major production plants being transferred to Shandong (now CNHTC), Shaanxi, and Chongqing (now SAIC Hongyan) for management, respectively. Shaanxi Automobile Group (Shaanxi Automobile) thus began its independent development again.

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Weichai Takes Over Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck

After Shaanxi Automobile Group became independent, it established Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck Group (Shaanxi Automobile Group). This company inherited more than 8 billion yuan of debt from CNHTC and faced operational difficulties. At the time, many industry insiders believed that Shaanxi Automobile Group might only be heading towards bankruptcy.

The turning point came the following year. In 2002, Shaanxi Automobile Group and Xiang Torch jointly established Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck Co., Ltd., which is what we commonly refer to as “Shaanxi Heavy Truck” or “Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck.” The major shareholders of the joint venture were Xiang Torch (51%) and Shaanxi Automobile Group (49%), bringing in 250 million yuan in capital for Shaanxi Automobile Group.

In 2003, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck (Shaanxi Automobile) introduced heavy-duty truck technology from MAN GmbH of Germany, creating the Shaanxi Delong series of heavy-duty trucks. This propelled Shaanxi Automobile onto a path of rapid development.

In 2007, Weichai Group, a diesel engine manufacturing giant from Shandong, acquired Xianghuoju. Weichai thus officially became the controlling shareholder of Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck. With Weichai Group’s support, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck has now become the world’s largest heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturer.

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Establishment of Shaanxi Automobile Commercial Vehicle

In fact, Shaanxi Automobile’s core asset is “Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck.” Relying on the Shaanxi Delong series, which possesses German technology, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck’s development has been rapid. However, the biggest beneficiary of Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck’s rapid development is not Shaanxi Automobile Group of Shaanxi Province, but Weichai Group, which holds a 51% stake.

To better utilize the “Shaanxi Automobile” brand, in 2018, Shaanxi Automobile Group renamed its subsidiary, Baoji Huashan Engineering Vehicle Co., Ltd., located in Caijiapo, Baoji City, to Shaanxi Automobile Group Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. This is what we now commonly refer to as “Shaanxi Automobile Commercial Vehicles.” This company primarily produces heavy-duty trucks such as the Yan’an, Deyu, and Zhide Yan series, as well as medium and light-duty trucks.

Shaanxi Automobile Commercial Vehicles is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaanxi Automobile Group, with no equity relationship whatsoever with the Weichai system. However, the overall size of Shaanxi Automobile Commercial Vehicles is smaller than that of Shaanxi Heavy Truck (Shaanxi Heavy Truck).

To this day, Shaanxi Automobile remains one of the four giants in my country’s heavy-duty truck market. In 2024, Shaanxi Automobile Group’s total sales reached 167,000 vehicles, with its heavy-duty trucks ranking third in sales, second only to China National Heavy Duty Truck Group and FAW Jiefang, ahead of Dongfeng Heavy Truck.

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Shaanxi Automobile’s Story

In 2012, Shaanxi Province established Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group, a provincial state-owned enterprise, with the Shaanxi Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as its actual controller. Shaanxi Automobile Holding became the largest shareholder of Shaanxi Automobile Group and is the highest management platform for the Shaanxi Automobile Group’s subsidiaries.

In conclusion, we can now summarize the relationships between Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck, Shaanxi Commercial Vehicle, Shaanxi Automobile Group, and Shaanxi Automobile Holding. Shaanxi Automobile Holding is the major shareholder of Shaanxi Automobile Group, which in turn is the major shareholder of Shaanxi Commercial Vehicle; these three are all provincial-level companies affiliated with Shaanxi Automobile Group.

Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck’s major shareholder is Weichai Group (holding 51%), while Shaanxi Automobile Group holds approximately 49% of its shares. Therefore, Weichai holds the dominant position in Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck, not Shaanxi Automobile Group.

Furthermore, we can analyze Weichai’s shareholding structure. Weichai is a subsidiary of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, a provincial-level enterprise in Shandong Province, and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (CNHTC) is also a subsidiary of Shandong Heavy Industry Group. Therefore, from this perspective, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck, the core asset of Shaanxi Automobile Group, and CNHTC are both now members of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, representing another form of eventual consolidation after a period of separation.

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