At present, there is no unified cooperation model between domestic diesel engine companies and vehicle manufacturers. When talking about the reasons for this, industry experts believe that different models are formed during the historical evolution and will change with the development of China's auto industry.
In the era of planned economy, China’s auto plants and engine plants have their own responsibilities, and the supporting problems are completely solved by the state. China's internal combustion engine companies mainly support agricultural vehicles. In the transition from a planned economy to a market economy, some of the central enterprises were decentralized to localities, and the state no longer provided them with supportive issues. Therefore, industry consolidation occurred, such as Dachai and Xichai entering FAW and Chaochao entering Dongfeng. In the process of integration, there are still some independent development companies such as Weichai, Yuchai, and Shangchai. As China enters the era of market economy, the model of cooperation between diesel engine companies and vehicle companies is also more diversified.
Now, companies such as Yuchai and Yangchai, Yunnei, Changchai, etc. supporting light vehicles still exist as independent suppliers. Chaochai is a holding subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Corporation. Xichai is a branch of FAW Group. Its original brother company, Dashicha, now has a new identity and is a joint venture between FAW Group and DEUTZ. Dongfeng Cummins, Xi'an Cummins, and Chongqing Cummins are joint ventures between Cummins Inc. and different partners in China. Weichai is a special case that is considered by many to be a difficult-to-copy model and has achieved control over the automaker.
Ni Hongjie, chairman of China National Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association, believes that the development of internal combustion engine companies is a dynamic process, and the cooperation model with vehicle companies will change in the future. He said: “From a worldwide perspective, whether it is a commercial vehicle company or a passenger vehicle company, large-scale automobile manufacturers hope to have their own engine factories. According to the needs of domestic and foreign market competition, the reorganization of Chinese companies’ assets will certainly accelerate. This is good for the development of the country and the enterprise. From the perspective of the association, we hope to promote such a situation."