The new forces of state-owned enterprises launch a positioning battle

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

In the increasingly competitive Chinese new energy market, any conservative iteration is tantamount to regression.

Voyah has also chosen to adopt an aggressive approach for the Voyah Dreamer model, raising the competitive threshold in the high-end MPV market to a new height that rivals find difficult to reach.

On September 15, the 2026 Voyah Dreamer was officially launched, featuring a series of "generational technologies" such as the first mass-produced 800V intelligent super hybrid, Huawei QianKun intelligent driving, and rear-wheel steering, making this model stand out in the MPV market.

In an interview, Voyah CEO Lu Fang candidly stated that Voyah aims to be the "leader that others cannot catch up with."

Behind the gamble on product strength is Voyah's imminent independent venture into the capital market. As Voyah's core model, the Voyah Dreamer is naturally assigned an important mission. It not only needs to prove to the market that it is an "unavoidable benchmark model," but also to demonstrate Voyah's value to investors.

Lu Fang and his team chose to make significant upgrades to the already successful Dreamer, with the core logic being to completely break out of the homogenized competition circle through absolute technological leadership.

The core of this technological advantage is the first mass-produced and delivered 800V Lanhai intelligent super hybrid technology. Coupled with a 62.5 kWh large battery and 5C supercharging, the Dreamer achieves an ultra-long pure electric range of 350 kilometers.

These parameters directly address the core pain points of users. Lu Fang admitted that this move stemmed from a real user insight—many Voyah users feel embarrassed to use charging stations on highways. Voyah's solution is to make the charging speed of hybrid vehicles faster than that of ordinary electric vehicles, allowing users to confidently charge outside and ensure a full "electric feel" experience.

Another killer feature is the strong partnership with Huawei. In the current landscape of converging intelligent systems, Voyah attempts to tell a differentiated story.

CBO Shao Mingfeng described it as a "soulmate" level of deep cooperation: Huawei provides a powerful brain, while Voyah's robust vehicle platform architecture, safety, and chassis technology provide the strong body that can maximize performance.

Additionally, with a rear-wheel steering system that gives a large vehicle the agility of a small one, and AI zero-gravity massage seats born from real user needs, the 2026 Dreamer is almost in an "all in" posture, creating a clear generational gap in technology and experience compared to all competitors.

Behind this is Voyah's core strategy of "not competing on price, but on value"—when product strength is powerful enough to generate its own traffic, the challenges of communication and sales will be easily resolved.

Dongfeng Group's strategic focus has cleared obstacles for Voyah's independent development while also raising higher demands. As a model for Dongfeng's "best practices for building independent operations," Voyah must prove its ability to walk independently.

The story in the capital market ultimately returns to the essence of business: profitability. Lu Fang is frank about this: "Internally, Voyah has clear gross profit and profitability requirements for all products; relying on continuous blood transfusions without profit is unhealthy."

This gives the pricing and market performance of the 2026 Dreamer a financial significance that transcends the product itself. It must prove that Voyah can not only produce well-received vehicles but also create popular and profitable ones. The success of this model will directly define Voyah's value anchor in the capital market and provide valuable market confidence for its subsequent products, such as the highly anticipated Zhaiguang L and six-seat SUV Fortunately, the market is providing positive feedback. Voyah's sales have achieved a "7 consecutive increases," with over 13,500 units delivered in August alone, and the brand's momentum continues to rise. Lu Fang attributes its core strength to user recognition. This market trust accumulated through strong product capability is also the confidence behind Voyah's foray into the capital market.

The launch of the 2026 Voyah Dreamer marks that Voyah has pushed its sharpest weapon to the front line of the battlefield. From an industry perspective, this is not just an iteration of a vehicle, but a deliberate breakthrough in the existing landscape of the high-end new energy MPV market.

Voyah is attempting to drag its competitors into a higher-threshold arms race through a one-time technological upgrade. In the past, the competition dimension in the MPV market was relatively singular; now, 800V, advanced intelligent driving, rear-wheel steering, and luxury cabin experience are being packaged by Voyah as standard configurations for the new generation flagship MPV. This is no longer simple product competition, but a reshaping of the entire game rules of the track, which will accelerate the industry's reshuffle, forcing all players to either follow suit or exit.

Whether it can continue its success will determine the future years of the "throne" of China's high-end MPV market and will be the ultimate test of whether Voyah can reach the top with the "state-owned enterprise background + new force mechanism" model. The past market landscape has been invalidated, and a new power sequence has already begun to be rewritten.

The following is a dialogue with Voyah CEO Lu Fang and CBO Shao Mingfeng (edited):

Q: Regarding the 2026 Voyah Dreamer launched today, which uses Huawei's QianKun intelligent driving and HarmonyOS cockpit. In fact, not only Voyah, but many car companies are currently using Huawei's intelligent systems. How does Voyah reflect its differentiated advantages?

Shao Mingfeng: We have mentioned our cooperation with Huawei on multiple occasions. First of all, our collaboration with Huawei is a true strong alliance. It is not an exaggeration to say that Huawei can also feel Voyah's profound background in vehicle manufacturing. We have made this analogy: a strong brain still needs a robust body to cooperate; Voyah's capabilities in platform architecture, vehicle safety, and other aspects enable us to maximize the performance of Huawei's QianKun intelligent driving. For example, why can only Voyah achieve a limit of 0-100 km/h in 130 km/h braking, even though it is equipped with the same Huawei system? This is supported by our vehicle manufacturing strength.

Secondly, Voyah and Huawei are "soul partners" that empower each other and grow together. Huawei brings significant empowerment to us in intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit aspects. At the same time, Voyah, with its excellent sales and market performance, provides Huawei's intelligent driving system with a high-quality verification platform and communication volume. The activation rate of the intelligent driving functions of the Voyah Dreamer is very high, with some data ranking first; the Voyah FREE+, currently a mid-to-large SUV, has also firmly secured a top-three position in the market, becoming an important force for Huawei's intelligent driving. It can be said that Huawei has made Voyah successful, and Voyah has also made Huawei successful.

Lu Fang: To add, we have a long-term cooperative relationship with Huawei. Additionally, I have mentioned before that we share a common wish with Huawei to allow Chinese users to truly experience the excellent results of the combination of Chinese new energy vehicles and intelligent products. Currently, the Voyah FREE+ and Voyah Dreamer have become top models in their respective market segments, allowing more users to enjoy the luxury experience of new energy vehicles We are confident and assured that our cooperation with Huawei will definitely outperform other brands.

Q: Given the significant success of the current model, why choose to make substantial upgrades to the 2026 model instead of minor adjustments?

Lu Fang: The Voyah Dreamer was officially launched on May 7, 2022, and was the first high-end intelligent MPV developed on a pure electric platform at that time. In 2022, the industry mainly focused on in-car systems and L2-level assisted driving functions, while the Voyah Dreamer pioneered a new era from then on. By 2023, based on market feedback and user experience, we enhanced the electric range of the hybrid version to 236 kilometers, which is still at the industry-leading level—however, we have now achieved a breakthrough, realizing an ultra-long electric range of 350 kilometers. Entering September 2024, with the delivery of Dongfeng Group's 60 millionth vehicle, we also made significant upgrades in terms of intelligence for the Dreamer, integrating Huawei's QianKun intelligent driving and HarmonyOS cockpit, making it a truly intelligent luxury hybrid MPV, which quickly became a phenomenal product. This year, we took it a step further by being the first to apply 800V Lanhai intelligent super hybrid technology and achieved delivery, while also introducing innovative configurations such as rear-wheel steering and AI zero-gravity seats, continuously pushing the development of MPV technology in China.

Every iteration we make is based on in-depth communication with users, closely revolving around actual usage scenarios. For example, the introduction of 800V intelligent super hybrid technology stemmed from user feedback—many Voyah users felt uncomfortable using charging stations on highways. In fact, many people occupied charging stations for a long time to fully charge their vehicles, making it difficult for many pure electric users to access or even reluctant to fight for charging stations, even though our 400V products charge quickly. Therefore, we created the 5C supercharging and 800V platform, allowing charging to be faster than typical pure electric vehicles, enabling users to confidently charge outside and ensuring a full "electric feel" experience.

Q: Regarding the overall industry and Voyah's own profit margins, how does Voyah consider the pricing and profitability of this vehicle?

Lu Fang: Voyah has always opposed internal competition and price wars. As a state-owned enterprise, we bear more responsibility and obligation to maintain the healthy, sustainable, and high-quality development of this industry, ensuring that we have the capability to continuously serve more users. This is not only essential for business operations but also relates to our ability to continuously provide quality services to users. Therefore, Voyah has clear gross profit and profitability requirements for all products internally, requiring each product to have self-sustaining capabilities; relying on continuous transfusions without profit is unhealthy.

Q: The Voyah brand is making strong efforts in the high-end market; what challenges remain in this pursuit?

Shao Mingfeng: Firstly, while price does distinguish market positioning to some extent, it is not everything. Dongfeng Group has multiple brands, such as Warrior and Yipai, each with clear positioning. Voyah is still focused on the mid-to-high-end market.

Secondly, regarding the challenges faced in the high-end market, the current market competition is indeed very fierce. Chinese brands must continuously build their own moat in terms of products and technology to break through. Additionally, the macroeconomic cycle brings uncertainty, and fluctuations in the market will affect all brands Therefore, maintaining resilience in a competitive environment is crucial.

Third, one must never choose the wrong track. Voyah has always insisted on being user-demand centered, and we are fortunate to have laid out our plans in the new energy sector early on, which has proven to be the right path. At the same time, our Voyah Ocean power and platform architecture can cover various power forms such as range-extended, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric, with our product line encompassing three major categories: SUV, MPV, and sedan. Currently, Voyah has demonstrated strong capabilities in the SUV and MPV markets, and the sedan model, the Pursuit L, has also garnered significant attention. Regardless of power type or vehicle category, we are fully prepared to respond to market changes. Of course, our marketing and terminal support capabilities still need to be accelerated, requiring more talent and resource investment. Voyah will always focus on technology and products, striving to be a leader in the high-end new energy market.

Lu Fang: I would like to briefly add some insights regarding the difficulties and challenges faced by high-end brands. For China, in the smart connected new energy vehicle sector, every brand has good opportunities. Many traditional fuel vehicles and so-called luxury brands are not performing particularly well in this sector at the moment, and their brand advantages have not been fully realized, leaving a development window for new Chinese brands.

In the new energy and smart connected sector, all brands face opportunities to reshape the landscape. Many traditional luxury brands have not fully leveraged their original advantages during the electrification transition, which leaves a development window for new Chinese brands. Voyah has grown rapidly in its five years of establishment, but challenges still exist—the key lies in how users perceive us and how the market views us.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of Voyah, and we can say that we are the fastest-growing brand in the industry. Behind this result, what challenges do we face? It is how users recognize you and how the market views you. A brand cannot speak for itself; it must rely on continuous product innovation and enhancement of user experience to gain recognition, firmly implement long-termism, and gain insights into user needs and market changes. Now, in a saturated market, we must rely on continuous product innovation and enhancement of user experience to increase market visibility and win user recognition.

With the launch of the 26 models of the Voyah Dreamer, we are doing just that, which is actually more challenging for our R&D. With benchmarks in place, imitation becomes easier; the Voyah Dreamer has become a benchmark in the segmented market, and without ready-made counterparts, this poses a significant challenge for Voyah. I admit that I am currently quite anxious about what aspect of innovation we should pursue next with the Voyah Dreamer, as we truly cannot find competitors. This requires us to engage in more original and forward-looking innovations. Only through original innovation, gaining insights into user needs that they have yet to realize, and achieving breakthroughs through technological leadership can we continuously provide users with a truly high-end experience. All of this requires us to maintain a strong internal drive to identify and break through more innovations that meet user needs.

Question: The entire large SUV market is currently very hot, with many blockbuster models emerging. With the strong alliance with Huawei, what are your thoughts on the 6-seat SUV market?

Lu Fang: The 6-seat SUV market is large enough; the Chinese market is big enough to accommodate large 6-seat SUVs. Moreover, looking at future family upgrades, luxury SUV users will shift towards our domestic brands, whether it is Voyah or other domestic brands. I believe this will be a major trend in the future, and this market will become very large Question: On August 22, Dongfeng Group announced that Voyah will introduce its listing format on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. What is your vision for this?

Lu Fang: With the strong support of Dongfeng Group, Voyah has achieved rapid growth and development. In the future, we hope to continue to contribute to the group, fulfill the responsibilities of a subsidiary together with other brother units, and collaborate with them to jointly promote the growth and strengthening of China's new energy industry. From the data of the group in the first half of this year, Dongfeng Group's new energy vehicle sales are leading in the industry both in absolute value and growth rate. We particularly hope to fully support the group's strategic implementation in the process of its transition to new energy, from technology and brand to sales and profits.

Of course, Dongfeng Group is not only focused on new energy; another mission assigned to Voyah is to create best practices for independent operations through institutional and mechanism innovation. We will support the high-quality and sustainable development of enterprises through deepening reforms and innovations. This listing plan also reflects Dongfeng Group's firm determination to promote state-owned enterprise reform. Since the group has this determination, Voyah will surely achieve the best operational results to assist the group in achieving its transformation goals and development vision