30 Million Milestone: GAC's Long-termism, A Model for Chinese Automotive Progress

On July 16, as the right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV slowly rolled off the production line, GAC Group officially crossed the industry milestone of cumulative production and sales of 30 million vehicles. Beginning in 1997 amidst external doubts about car manufacturing in Guangzhou, and now boasting six passenger car brands with user footprints spanning 110 countries and regions globally, over 29 years, GAC has used 30 million units of user trust to write a narrative of the Chinese automotive industry's growth: from joint-venture learning to independent rise, from local manufacturing to global layout.

In the current context of intensifying stock competition in the car market and accelerated industry reshuffling, the weight of the number 30 million far exceeds the simple superposition of sales scale. It is not only the inevitable result of GAC's persistence in quality fundamentals and practice of long-termism, but also a vivid footnote of traditional car enterprises actively breaking through the deadlock and reconstructing industrial value centered on users, further reflecting the clear path for the Chinese automotive industry to leap from scale expansion to high-quality development.

Quality as Anchor: Engraving Long-termism into Manufacturing Genes. When discussing GAC, one cannot avoid the word "quality". In the impatient atmosphere where the industry generally pursues "fast iteration, fast launch, fast volume", GAC always maintains a rare stability: new car development must fully experience "two winters and one summer" field verification, with a shortest cycle of 18 months, and a conventional stable cycle up to 21 months; before each model is launched, it must undergo "five highs, one mountain, one dust" extreme environment polishing, repeatedly verifying under extreme working conditions such as 60°C high temperature, -40°C extreme cold, high altitude, high salt fog, etc., which users may never encounter in a lifetime.

This obsession with quality did not come out of thin air. From absorbing the essence of Honda's Total Quality Management and Toyota's Lean Production during the joint-venture era, to constructing a complete system covering 12 major verification items and over 1,500 verification sub-items for the independent era, GAC has implemented "Quality First" from a slogan to the entire chain of R&D, manufacturing, and service. The Bulletproof Battery accumulation of 1.5 million vehicles, safe driving over 160 billion kilometers, Star Spirit Safety System protecting nearly 2 million users and avoiding 6.28 million potential risks, and the industry-first "Three Responsibility Commitment" service promise extending guarantees to the full vehicle usage lifecycle — behind these numbers is GAC's long-term practice of "Quality is the bottom line and also a belief".

In fact, with frequent price wars and endless marketing gimmicks today, the choice of 30 million users is itself the most powerful proof: Short-term price cuts might exchange for temporary sales pulses, but what truly supports enterprises traversing the cycle is always the two words "reliable" in users' mouths. GAC's growth logic is essentially exchanging long-term quality investment for users' long-term trust and repurchase.

Users as Core: The Cognitive Metamorphosis from "Car Maker" to "Travel Companion". If quality is the foundation of GAC's existence, then the systemic transformation centered on users is the core password for maintaining growth resilience in the new era. The "Panyu Action" launched in 2024, the core change was not the update of products, but the leap of thinking — from the traditional "Engineer Thinking", comprehensively shifting to "User Thinking".

This transformation is reflected in many details: A normalized "User Open Mic" mechanism allows R&D and product managers to face users' daily pain points directly, converting real feedback directly into product optimization directions; Channels accelerate sinking into counties, with plans to build 1,000 county-level authorized stores within the year, delivering car viewing and maintenance services to users' doorsteps; Targeting the charging anxiety of new energy users, the "9 Vertical 10 Horizontal" charging network covers 213 cities, realizing "a station within 1 kilometer in a straight line" in core urban areas; Online "Super Steward" promises 5-second response, 2-hour completion, so that user requests no longer fall into a black hole.

This 30 million user gratitude season, GAC launched new purchase, trade-in, and additional purchase triple benefits in conjunction with six brands, covering the full lifecycle of user vehicle usage, which is the concentrated embodiment of this thinking. The automotive industry has long entered the era of "Users First" from "Product King", whoever can truly hear users' voices and solve users' pain points can hold the basic market share in the stock market. GAC's transformation is essentially putting "Users First" from a slogan into every link of organizational structure, business processes, and service standards.

Global as Gameboard: The Progression from "Product Going Global" to "System Taking Root". It is worth noting that the 30 millionth complete vehicle chose the right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV, and was delivered to Thai car owners, this detail is quite symbolic — in the 30 million user territory, the overseas market is becoming an increasingly important growth pole.

Relying on the "One GAC 2.0" strategy, GAC is accelerating the upgrade from simple product export to full value chain system going global. In the first half of 2026, GAC independent brand export volume reached 121,500 units, a 132% year-on-year increase, already approaching the level of 2025 full year; International business covers 5 major sectors in 110 countries and regions, built 7 overseas production factories, and over 746 sales service outlets. From 207% month-over-month increase in Thailand market sales to establishing a full-link system of localized production to terminal sales in the European market, GAC's going global path is solid.

Chinese car companies going global has long passed the "exchange low prices for market" initial stage. GAC's system-based going global means R&D, production, supply chain, sales are fully localized, truly taking root locally and integrating locally. This approach that does not pursue short-term explosion but focuses on long-term operation is exactly the key for Chinese brands to establish reputation and stand firm in the global market.

Technology as Wings: Planting Seeds for the Next 30 Million. 30 million is a milestone and also a new starting point. Facing the industrial change of intelligent electrification, GAC did not lie on the credit book of scale, but continuously uses technical innovation to anchor the future. By the end of 2025, GAC cumulative independent R&D investment exceeded 62 billion yuan, patent applications exceeded 24,900 items; Star Origin Power, Star Spirit Architecture 4.0, Galaxy Smart Cockpit and other core technologies landed successively, co-building intelligent ecosystems with partners like Huawei, CATL, etc., Qijing brand charging high-end intelligent new energy track.

From joint venture exploration to independent rise, from intelligent progression to ecosystem expansion, GAC's four leaps have always resonated with the development of the Chinese automotive industry. The 29-year journey proves that the pragmatic and low-key Guangdong enterprise background, seemingly not enough to be clever, is the most reliable quality to traverse industry cycles.

30 million is not the end point, but the starting point to rush to the next journey. In the deep water zone of intelligent electrification, in the new arena of globalization, GAC has already built a solid foundation with the four cards of quality, users, technology, and globalization. And its growth path also provides a referenceable sample for more Chinese car companies: Adhere to long-term value, focus on user needs, establish brand with quality, seek the future with innovation, can only walk steadily and go far in the industry wave, so that the name of Chinese automobiles has more weight in the global market.