The year-end and beginning of the new year saw a flurry of annual events in the commercial vehicle industry, providing a crucial window into the industry’s development trajectory. Leading companies like FAW Jiefang successively released their 2026 strategic plans, outlining their development blueprints for the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Based on industry data and trend predictions disclosed by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the competitive landscape of the commercial vehicle industry will continue to intensify in 2026, but structural opportunities in areas such as deepening new energy transformation, expanding into overseas markets, and implementing intelligent technologies have already emerged.
The signals released by various company annual meetings indicate that “comprehensive electrification,” “deep intelligentization,” “full internationalization,” and “ecosystem operation” will become the four core focuses for companies, jointly driving the industry’s transformation from scale expansion to high-quality development.
● Focus 1: Accelerated Development of New Energy Vehicles, Multiple Technology Routes Building Competitive Barriers
Electrification has become an irreversible development trend in the commercial vehicle industry, and 2026 will see a substantial breakthrough in penetration rate.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) shows that sales of new energy commercial vehicles reached 828,000 units from January to November 2025, a year-on-year increase of 66.3%, and the industry’s new energy vehicle penetration rate is expected to exceed 35% in 2026. This trend is fully reflected in the strategic layouts of leading companies, who are increasing their investment in new energy, pursuing multiple technology routes in parallel, and ensuring independent control over core components to seize market opportunities.
The “Three Driving Forces” Supporting the Commercial Vehicle Industry’s Growth in 2026
FAW Jiefang has made new energy transformation a core strategy, setting a sales target of 75,000 new energy vehicles by 2026, continuing its momentum of doubling growth for three consecutive years.
From an industry-wide perspective, pure electric and hybrid vehicles have become the mainstream technologies for new energy commercial vehicles, while hydrogen fuel cell technology is a key long-term development direction. Companies generally recognize that independent control over core components is crucial for building competitive barriers, and therefore are increasing R&D investment in areas such as batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls. FAW Jiefang’s independent technological achievements, such as its hybrid-specific powertrain system, are becoming a core competitive advantage for the company.
To drive the large-scale development of the new energy vehicle business, channel reforms are proceeding in tandem.
● Focus Two: Accelerated Implementation of Intelligentization, Scenario-Based Applications Drive Commercial Monetization
If new energy is the “green engine” of the commercial vehicle industry, then intelligentization is the “intelligent core” for improving operational efficiency and restructuring business models. In 2026, the intelligentization of commercial vehicles will shift from technological research and development to scenario-based commercial implementation. The application of L4 autonomous driving in specific scenarios and the comprehensive penetration of intelligent connected vehicle technology have become the core focus for enterprises.
Besides the implementation of autonomous driving technology, the deep application of intelligent connected vehicle technology has also become an important tool for enhancing product competitiveness. Leading companies are equipping their vehicles with intelligent cockpits and vehicle networking systems to achieve real-time monitoring and analysis of vehicle operation data, providing logistics companies with refined management solutions.
It is worth noting that the development of intelligent technology cannot be separated from collaborative innovation across the industry chain. The 2026 China Commercial Vehicle Forum lists “Commercialization of Intelligent Connectivity and Autonomous Driving” as a core topic, aiming to promote the integration of resources from government, industry, academia, research, and application.
In the future, enterprises will place greater emphasis on cooperation with technology companies, chip manufacturers, and logistics platforms to streamline the entire chain from technology R&D and product manufacturing to application scenarios, accelerating the large-scale promotion of intelligent technologies.
● Focus Three: Deepening Internationalization, Overseas Markets Become Core Growth Drivers
Against the backdrop of pressure on domestic market growth, overseas markets have become a crucial support for commercial vehicle companies to overcome growth bottlenecks. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) shows that from January to November 2025, commercial vehicle exports reached 947,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%, highlighting the increasingly prominent strategic importance of overseas markets.
In 2026, leading companies will further increase their overseas investment, enhancing their global market competitiveness through localized operations and a comprehensive value chain layout.
The “Three Driving Forces” Supporting Commercial Vehicle Industry Growth in 2026
FAW Jiefang has prioritized overseas business, setting a target of 80,000 overseas vehicle sales by 2026. Its overseas business has already achieved a tenfold leap in scale within six years, placing it among the industry’s top tier.
From a development model perspective, competition in overseas markets has shifted from simply exporting products to localized production and operations. Enterprises are reducing logistics costs and trade barrier risks by establishing production bases, R&D centers, and service networks overseas, thereby enhancing their ability to respond quickly to local markets.
Simultaneously, enterprises are conducting differentiated product R&D and marketing strategies tailored to the policies, regulations, and market demands of different countries and regions. For example, they are focusing on promoting new energy commercial vehicles in regions with strict environmental policies, such as Europe and North America, while increasing the deployment of economical fuel vehicles in emerging markets.
At the industry level, the 2026 China Commercial Vehicle Forum specifically included a sub-forum on “Globalization Strategies and Opportunities for Chinese Commercial Vehicles,” focusing on hot issues related to overseas market development. With the continued advancement of the “Belt and Road” initiative, commercial vehicle companies will further leverage overseas infrastructure projects to expand into markets along the route, promoting the globalization of Chinese commercial vehicle brands.
● Conclusion:
As the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” 2026 is a critical period of reshaping for the commercial vehicle industry. Profound adjustments in the global market, rapid iterations of technological innovation, and accelerated restructuring of the business ecosystem have brought unprecedented challenges, but also created tremendous development opportunities.
For commercial vehicle companies, only by firmly grasping the two core trends of “green transformation” and “digital empowerment” and deeply integrating technological innovation, market expansion and customer service can they stand out in the competition for existing market share.
