A few days ago, I visited a number of automobile and parts companies in Dalian to decode the advanced path of the city’s automobile and parts industry.
At the Chery Automobile Dalian base in the Dalian Free Trade Zone, new cars that have just rolled off the assembly line are driving out of the assembly workshop one by one.
Relying on the location advantage of “front port and back factory”, the finished vehicles here can be quickly transported to the port and cleared to go to sea after rolling off the assembly line.
Since its establishment in 2009, Chery’s Dalian base has been positioned not as a single factory, but as the core fulcrum of the group’s global exports.
The base relies on the port and policy advantages of Dalian Free Trade Zone to transform “export carriers” into “delivery advantages”.
Through technological transformation in recent years, the current annual output can reach 300,000 units; the cumulative exports of a certain A0-class SUV produced have exceeded one million units and are sold to mainstream markets such as Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
Overseas markets have strict quality requirements. The base adheres to global unified standards and makes special optimizations for different regional climates, road conditions, and user habits, so that “Made in Dalian” Chery vehicles can be recognized by global users.
Today, Chery’s Dalian base has been upgraded from a single production plant to a comprehensive industrial base integrating R&D adaptation, intelligent manufacturing, global exports, and industrial chain collaboration, becoming the core node of automobile manufacturing in the Bohai Rim and Northeast regions.
The resilience of the automobile and parts industry is reflected not only in the OEMs, but also in key “small parts”.
In the workshop of Dalian Demax Precision Technology Co., Ltd. in Lushunkou District, General Manager He Jianping said that the company’s precision shafts used to rely on imports. After years of technical research, they not only achieved domestic substitution, but also entered the supply system of international car companies such as BBA and Volkswagen.
Demax attributes the company’s sustainable and stable development to intelligent transformation and reconstruction of the entire process of technology, equipment, logistics, and loading and unloading.
In recent years, the company has promoted automation upgrades and introduced internationally advanced combination machine lathes in key processes, which has greatly improved processing efficiency and product quality. The entire production process is controllable and traceable, and production flexibility and delivery responsiveness have been greatly enhanced.
As the entire vehicle becomes stronger and the parts become more sophisticated, the “automotive electronics” of Dalian’s automobile industry is also accelerating.
At the Dalian Neusoft Software Park, Li Chunlin, president of the Neusoft Automotive Electronics Research Institute, pointed out that the focus of competition in the industry is now shifting from “whether the chassis engine can run” to “whether the user experience is good when it comes to the body.” Smart cockpits, human-computer interaction, communication interconnection, regional control, etc. are the main battlefields for differentiated competition among car companies.
In the second half of 2025, Neusoft Intelligence successively won two large orders totaling nearly 10 billion yuan, demonstrating its strength as a core member of the mass production supply chain of many mainstream car companies.
In Dalian, the automobile and parts industry has formed a relatively complete cluster.
Data shows that Dalian currently has passenger vehicle companies such as Chery Automobile Dalian Branch and Dongfeng Nissan Dalian Branch, as well as more than 150 parts companies above designated size such as Volkswagen FAW Engine, FAW Dachai Engine, and Panasonic Automotive Electronics. Their products cover key areas such as engines, transmissions, electrical systems, car audio, and tires.
In 2025, Dalian’s automobile industry cluster will maintain steady development, producing 387,000 vehicles throughout the year, including 121,000 new energy vehicles, ranking first in the province in new energy vehicle production.
