What Drives Yin Tongyue of Chery, the Top Domestic Car Exporter for 23 Years?

Written by | AUTO Xinqiu

Author | AUTO Xinqiu Team

In the vast family of Chinese automobiles, there is a "non-typical" leading enterprise.

It has ranked first in exports among Chinese brand passenger cars for 23 consecutive years, with almost half of its annual sales sold abroad, recognized as the No. 1 exporter.

You might not know, what is the status of it in the hearts of overseas consumers? On April 23 this year, the International Automotive Quality Expert Group, consisting of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), International Automotive Oversight Bureau (IAOB), Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), and Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), followed it, personally visited and presented the "Automotive Industry Peak Award: Quality Innovation Figure" to the chairman of this enterprise.

Not to mention, winning the ICQCC Quality Gold Medal, regarded as the "Olympic" grade of international quality, for three consecutive times, proved its popularity in overseas markets has already "far surpassed" domestic peers.

If the above does not give you a sense, let me tell you, the recently in-the-spotlight Land Rover Freelander's engine is manufactured by it.

Congratulations, you answered correctly! Yes, what I am referring to is Chery Automobile.

So, why is Chery so radiant? What did Chairman Yin Tongyue do right?

"Technology Fanatic" Dual-Drive: R&D Obsession, Honest Collaboration

Yin Tongyue graduated from Hefei University of Technology, known as the "Huangpu Military Academy" of Anhui's automotive industry. After graduating in automotive manufacturing major in 1984, Yin Tongyue directly joined FAW Hongqi Sedan Plant, working as an automotive process engineer. Due to his diligence and outstanding performance, he was quickly identified as core talent and sent to Germany and the US for further study.

After returning to China, Yin Tongyue served as Director of the Final Assembly Workshop and Chief of the Logistics Section at FAW-Volkswagen. He was also awarded the "FAW Top Ten Outstanding Youth" title, with a bright future ahead.

However, a visit and study tour organized by Wuhu City completely changed Yin Tongyue's life trajectory.

At that time, Wuhu City was planning to build an Auto City, and also received strong support from the provincial government. Yin Tongyue, who had already shown his锋芒, was talent scarce in Wuhu City. Thus, the visit group invited him to return home to develop and lead the local auto project. What truly moved Yin Tongyue was a sentence from the visit group: Always working for foreigners is not worthwhile. It was this sentence that ignited his "Dream of Domestic Brand" deep in his heart.

So, he quit and handled the procedures, carrying luggage from Changchun, the Automobile Capital of China, to Wuhu which seemed unrelated to automobiles.

Heaven will assign great responsibility to this person. Yin Tongyue deeply felt the heavy responsibility, only able to exert all efforts and give whole heart.

Chery started from the "Heart of the Automobile", the engine. To ensure this project would be won, Yin Tongyue even made a hardcore commitment: If it failed, I would jump into the Yangtze River.

Possessing this persistence and resilience, he recruited 288 cadres and over 1,000 employees from FAW. It was also with this persistence and resilience that, facing a foreign production line assembly team shirking and slacking, they loudly shouted: "Get back to your home, let us do it ourselves!"

Thus, after 500 days of hard fighting, on April 27, 1999, Chery's first engine successfully rolled off the line, ignited successfully in one try. 7 months later, the first Chery sedan - Fengyun 000001 successfully rolled off the line.

From then on, under Yin Tongyue's leadership, Chery hit models emerged one after another. In 2003, Chery launched the generation mythic car Chery QQ, with annual sales revenue exceeding 8 billion RMB.

How popular was Chery QQ back then? Describing it as a "Phenomenal National Mythic Car" was no exaggeration, because it was the first true "Hit" among Chinese independent brands. Before Chery QQ ceased production in 2014, cumulative sales reached 1.40-1.54 million units, exported to over 100 countries and regions, with cumulative exports exceeding 500,000 units.

In 2013, under a new system and process, Chery created another classic model - Tiggo 5. To strictly control quality, before listing, Yin Tongyue even invited a Japanese expert for acceptance check. This Japanese expert scratched the inside of the car door handle with his fingernail and found a mark, saying: "This is unacceptable."

So without a word, they remade it. During the second inspection, the Japanese expert said the material formula needed re-adjustment and re-certification.

Thus, Yin Tongyue led the team to repeatedly tear down and start over. When Tiggo 5 passed rigorous verification, it also meant Chery bid farewell to the primary stage of "Assembling Parts to Build Cars", and car manufacturing technology and systems truly approached international standards.

Taking engine thermal efficiency as an example, this is a hard indicator measuring core capability of fuel vehicles. Currently, mainstream engine thermal efficiencies mostly range between 38%-45%, while Chery Kunpeng Tiqing Engine achieved 48%. According to Chery internal data, cumulative global installations of its Kunpeng Power Engine Upgraded Version has exceeded 3.1 million units. So, does Made in China fuel engine work? Currently, only Chery dares to pat their chest and say "Yes".

Nowadays, Chery engine thermal efficiency has stabilized at 44.5%, which is top-tier in the industry. With this unique skill, Chery won the favor of two major international luxury car benchmarks, Jaguar and Land Rover. Both parties jointly established a new company, and the new energy vehicle brand "Freelander" directly equipped with Chery's 1.5-Liter Range Extender.

The cooperation with Huawei is a strong alliance. Yin Tongyue has a sentence often mentioned: "When opinions differ, listen to Huawei; when opinions align, listen to Chery." This is not surface-level flattery nor deliberate humility, but a truest respect for technology and the most pragmatic posture of an entrepreneur with an engineer background.

In fact, since Zhijie S7/R7, both sides have been satisfied and mutually appreciative. Why did HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility select Zhijie V9 as its first MPV? It is precisely due to comprehensive consideration of Chery's manufacturing hard power, a need for deep integration of "Technology Definition + Top Manufacturing".

Firstly, in capacity and quality control aspects, Chery specially created a Super Factory and Brand New Welding Line for Zhijie V9, investing over 20 billion RMB in special funds, capable of delivering this large size MPV and models with high craft requirements with quality and quantity. Secondly, in supply chain cost control, Chery possesses a perfect supply chain system, capable of effectively balancing the high BOM cost brought by Huawei Advanced Smart Driving (such as 896-line LiDAR), supporting V9 being fixed in the 389,800 RMB starting price range, possessing strong market impact.

Global Layout: Not "Sold Out", but "Grown Out"

As early as 1999, Yin Tongyue determined one thing: Chinese automobiles must go out, but not in the way of dumping at cheap prices, but in the way of long-termism.

What was the result? Chery has held the No. 1 position in Chinese brand passenger car exports for 23 consecutive years. In 2025, exports reached 1.344 million units, nearly half of annual sales, cumulative exports exceeding 5.85 million units. More rarely, for Chery exported new energy vehicles, for every 5 sold, 1 is sold to Europe with the strictest regulations, meaning Chery Automobiles' quality is globally top-tier.

Yin Tongyue summarized Chery's globalization philosophy with one sentence: "In somewhere, For somewhere, Be somewhere — Wherever, For Wherever, Become Part of Local." Considering deep integration into local market as the core goal of car exporting.

This is not a slogan. Chery has 10 overseas factories globally. Like Russia, Brazil, Egypt, etc. KD factories achieved "Parts Export, Local Assembly", which both avoids tariffs and drives local employment, deeply welcomed and supported by local governments.

For the extreme cold of Russia and Middle East, Chery strengthened car AC and engine cooling functions; for Brazil and Latin America market, Chery developed flexible fuel engines capable of adding ethanol and gasoline; for Europe market, entering with OMODA, JAECOO New Brands, fully meeting Euro NCAP 5-Star Safety Standard; for Southeast Asia market, Chery developed RHD models using local factories.

Besides, Chery developed multiple modular platforms like T1X, M1X, Mars Architecture, letting products quickly adapt to different countries' regulations, road conditions, and climate.

In April this year, Chery established its first Overseas Regional Operation Center in Barcelona, Spain, and simultaneously launched Spain Research Institute, main focus is Electrification, Smart Mobility and Sustainable Development, with the goal to develop "Cars with More Local Flavor".

In the overseas market, Chery did not consider itself as a "Foreign Manufacturer", but also voluntarily undertook corporate social responsibility for locals. For example, cooperated with World Conservation Union (IUCN), conducted a Mediterranean Posidonia Seagrass Bed Restoration Project, to protect local "Lungs of the Ocean"; Chery also organized local owners in Malaysia, conducted Afforestation Public Welfare Activities, doing all for protecting local ecological environment.

When many companies still "Chase Trends, Make Quick Money", Chery has already built supply chain and layout R&D network overseas for years. This persistence has now finally turned in a shining report card.

Conclusion: Not a Stroke of Genius, but 23 Years of "Hard Work"

What Yin Tongyue did right was never any one "Stroke of Genius", but determined 23 years ago that "Chinese Automobiles Must Go Out", then using Engineer's Rigor, Merchant's Patience, Long-termist's Steadfastness, brick by brick built the "Made in China" reputation into Global Market.

When domestic car companies still race price and configuration, Chery has already completed the transformation from "Cheap Alternative" to "Quality Choice" in overseas market - this is the fundamental reason and confidence of the International Quality Expert Team "Chasing Awards": Not because of what you said, but because in the global market, using over 20 years time, you truly achieved what.

Objectively speaking, Chery Helmsman Yin Tongyue is not only the Top Domestic Car Exporter, but also the Founder and Torchbearer Promoting Chinese Cars to the World, this honor will be written into Chinese Auto Industry Chronicles.

Hope Chery Automobiles Advance Further!

*Images in this article sourced from Internet

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