Author |Shen Tianxiang.
Edit |Produced by Li Guozheng |10 months after the Wuxi Gigafactory was put into operation, the Changchun Gigafactory of Jiefang Power was also put into operation. On the morning of December 27, 2023, Jiefang Power held the commissioning ceremony of Changchun Super Factory and the launch ceremony of the G power domain replacement lightweight 440 bridge at the new base of Changchun Factory Bridge. The relevant persons in charge of China FAW, Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone, and FAW Jiefang and employee representatives witnessed this moment. The Wuxi Gigafactory produces engines, and the Changchun Gigafactory mainly produces drive axles. The two super factories echo the north and the south and complement each other's advantages, forming a set of "super factory" system that liberates power. The Dalian plant, which is expected to start operations next year, also belongs to the "super factory" system. "As the culmination of the latest research results of Jiefang Power in the field of intelligent manufacturing, the two factories represent the first-class level of China's powertrain industry. Hu Hanjie, assistant general manager of China FAW, said. 
In July 2021, FAW Jiefang released the "Jiefang Smart Power Domain" brand, proposing to meet the power needs of all commercial vehicles by building four major solution platforms such as G, H, E, and F for the use scenarios of different users. Among them, the G power domain refers to the green and low-carbon power domain with diesel, natural gas, hydrogen engines, AMT transmissions, drive axles, and domain controllers as the core. In August this year, Jiefang Power launched the world's first intelligent power domain product, GD300-30, and released the power domain evaluation standards, which marks that the independent cause of Jiefang Power has leaped into the "independent era" and "chain era", and has entered the "domain era" in one fell swoop. The new lightweight 440 bridge, which was released on December 27, is also part of the G power domain. The replacement lightweight 440 axle will be matched with CA6DV1 engine and CA12TA300A integrated AMT to meet the needs of high-horsepower markets such as trunk logistics and express delivery, and provide users with high-intelligence, high-reliability, and low-cost green and intelligent power solutions. 
Gigafactories build super axles
The construction of the Changchun Gigafactory started on July 22, 2021 and took 29 months to complete. The overall construction area is 720,000 square meters, with a total investment of 98.9 billion yuan, with a production capacity of 320,000 drive axle assemblies and coatings. The reason why the plant is called "super" is mainly reflected in four aspects. First, green. During the construction of the production line, a number of energy-saving technologies, environmental protection technologies and energy management technologies are adopted to ensure that the manufacturing process is green and environmentally friendly. For example, the dry spray booth RTO exhaust gas treatment is used for painting, and the VOC emission collection is greater than 99%. Second, intelligence. The factory has a high degree of intelligence, and the logistics is unmanned. According to official information, the overall maturity of the factory's intelligent manufacturing has reached level 3, and the local level has reached level 4, realizing the upgrade of human-machine interconnection and intelligent decision-making. Third, lean. From reduction, vertical storage, post-installation to painting, etc., the logistics flow direction is consistent. The production efficiency is high, and the output of the same area is 30% higher than that of the industry. Fourth, reliability. The quality stability of the production line is industry-leading, and the assembly process and parts manufacturing process are reliable from multiple dimensions. 
The replacement lightweight 440 axle that rolled off the production line this time has five characteristics: high efficiency and fuel saving, light weight, high reliability and low noise. Bangning Studio learned that in the development process of replacing the lightweight 440 bridge, the R&D team overcame many difficulties. First of allAfter the life of the drive axle B10 is increased to 2 million kilometers and the oil change cycle is 800,000 kilometers, it is necessary to ensure that the oil seal does not leak. To this end, the engineer increased the durability test requirements of the oil seal from 240 hours to 1880 hours, and added the ultimate eccentricity and accelerated strengthening test to ensure the sealing performance of the oil seal. SecondlyIn order to reduce the weight of the drive axle on the premise of ensuring the performance of the drive axle, the engineers adopted a variety of lightweight technologies to achieve a weight of 101kg lighter than the same level of competing products and the same level of products currently produced. Finallyto achieve long-term maintenance and meet the current demand for high efficiency and high uptime in road transport. Through the application of long-life oil seals, long-term oil change and maintenance-free wheel ends, engineers can reduce the frequency of maintenance and reduce the cost of car maintenance. 
In terms of manufacturing, the replacement lightweight 440 bridge is equipped with 18 technical difficulties and innovations and 44 technical upgrades. Such as automatic detection technology of gear contact area, cold stamping technology, A** assembly carrier technology, dry paint booth technology, rapid scanning and inspection technology of welded bridge housing, visual tracking of weld seam, etc. For users, the most direct benefit of the replacement of lightweight 440 bridges is that the life of the entire bridge B10 reaches 2 million kilometers, which is more durable. At the same time, the bridge can also change the lubricating oil for a long time and change the oil wheel end for a long time, reduce the frequency of maintenance, reduce the cost of car maintenance, and save nearly 7,000 yuan in maintenance costs every year. The replacement of lightweight 440 axle is aimed at the road traction, high-end cargo and special vehicle markets, taking into account the target market of 435 axle and 457 bridge, creating products with high reliability, light weight, high efficiency and long oil change interval, suitable for express delivery, express transportation, dangerous goods and other standard load models. For compound working conditions, it also has good adaptability, and can be matched to a maximum of 660 horsepower engine, which will be mainly matched on Jiefang J6, JH6 and J7 in the future. Li Sheng, general manager and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of FAW Jiefang, said that the Changchun super factory was put into operation and the lightweight 440 bridge was rolled off the assembly line, which further built the core competitiveness of Jiefang Powertrain. 
Jiefang will challenge 350,000 units next year
Jiefang Power is an important business unit of FAW's commercial vehicle business and the top priority to support FAW Jiefang's core product strength. In 2023, FAW Jiefang's share of the domestic industry of medium and heavy trucks will be 216%, terminal share of 266%, to achieve the first position in the industry and terminals. In terms of overseas markets, the products are exported to 80 countries and regions such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and South Africa, and more than 100 core sales networks and 14 overseas KD factories have been built in the global market. On December 16, FAW Jiefang held the 2024 business annual meeting in Wuxi, and Wu Bilei, chairman and secretary of the Party Committee of FAW Jiefang, who has been in office for less than two months, elaborated on the strategic layout and transformation measures of FAW Jiefang in 2024. He pointed out that in the future, the liberation will adhere to six unwavering principles, that is, unswervingly adhere to the strategic goal of "China's first, world-class";Adhere to the "technology leading, product leading" unswervingly;Adhere to the two-wheel drive of innovation and change unswervingly;Adhere to the customer-centric, value creator-oriented;Unwavering commitment to business success;Adhere to the internationalization strategy unswervingly. 
Next, the liberation will formulate a strategic layout around "one commander, five major campaigns, four major tasks, and four guarantees." 1 CommanderIt is to adhere to the brand leadership and build the first century-old national automobile brand in New China. 5 major battlesIt refers to the traditional car to stabilize the basic plate and build a leading position in the industry;For emerging businesses, it is necessary to build a new engine and grasp new opportunities for transformationConcentrate on new energy to achieve a leap breakthrough;To promote the internationalization strategy, overseas should continue to make breakthroughs;To promote the overall profitability level, the quality of operation should be greatly improved. 4 major tasksThey are to build four major system capabilities, including R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and operation, to promote process-based organizational reform and digital transformation, and to build a world-class modern governance system. 4 guaranteesIt refers to the safeguard measures such as deepening the construction of talent team, improving the spirit of employees, deepening party building and discipline inspection, and strengthening capital operation. Ji Shengshi, general manager of FAW Jiefang Marketing Headquarters, said that in the face of market competition and changes, FAW Jiefang's overall goal in 2024 is to challenge 350,000 vehiclesIt accounts for 23% of the market share of medium and heavy trucks, and ranks first in the industry in terms of salesLight vehicles account for 15% of the market share, ranking first in the industry in terms of growth rateThe growth rate of exports is the first. Based on marketing reform, focusing on the sales target of 350,000 units in 2024, FAW Jiefang has deployed the "1234" marketing strategy, and focused on three aspects: channel planning, channel management, and channel empowerment, to find the right entry point, seize the key points, and strengthen the focus of next year's channel workFocusing on the three dimensions of customer development and operation, customer problem solving, and full life cycle services, we implement the "customer-centric" business philosophy to help Jiefang cause lead a new journey and continue to lead. Li Sheng predicts that the market demand for medium and heavy-duty trucks will be 1.15 million units in 2024, an increase of 11% compared with 2023. This is an important opportunity for liberation. In his view, there are four opportunities: natural gas vehicles are expected to continue to grow;The demand for rural logistics has surged, and the demand for vehicles has increased significantlyIn the second half of next year, the elimination of the fourth country will usher in a peak;The carbon credit system for commercial vehicles may be implemented next year, and the demand for new energy in scenarios such as steel mills, coal, muck, mixing, and sanitation will further increase. From the product point of view, Jiefang has a more complete layout in medium and heavy trucks and light trucks, and at the same time, it is necessary to strive to promote the traditional energy vehicles to be more energy-saving and quickly promote the transformation of new energy. 2024 is the first year of 30 years after Jiefang is moving towards a century-old brand, the first year of Jiefang's "Solution" brand transformation and the launch of the brand plan, and an important year for the new energy leap. All these have put forward higher requirements for the liberation of power. 
In terms of new energy transformation, Jiefang Power actively promotes joint ventures and cooperation. On September 25, FAW Jiefang Envision Power Intelligent Battery Manufacturing Base Project was signed, and the foundation stone was laid on the 80th anniversary of the establishment of its Xichai plant on the 26th. Together with Envision Power, FAW Jiefang will devote itself to the R&D and production of power batteries and energy storage related products based on heavy trucks and light trucks, and build a world-leading intelligent manufacturing base for commercial vehicle batteries, a business model innovation center for new energy commercial vehicles, and an exclusive product development and incubation base for new energy commercial vehicles. The product has the characteristics of high energy density, high safety and long life, covering the product needs of light trucks and medium and heavy trucks. The project has a planned annual production capacity of 20GWh and will be developed and constructed in two phases, with a total land area of about 450 acres. After reaching production, the comprehensive energy efficiency can be increased by 30% in 3 years. According to the construction plan, the first phase of the project will be completed and put into operation in April 2025. With the acceleration of the transformation of Jiefang Power, FAW Jiefang will continue to lead the industry in the field of new energy for commercial vehicles in the future.