Growing Pains of Transformation, Dongfeng Changes Personnel Again to Strengthen Defenses

On August 7, Dongfeng Motor Corporation issued a profit warning, stating that its net profit for the first half of 2025 would range between 30 million to 70 million yuan, representing a year-on-year decline of 90%-95%. During this period of transformational challenges, Dongfeng is once again facing a major personnel reshuffle.

Although the net profit is not negative, a net profit of 30 million to 70 million yuan is relatively low for a central enterprise of such a large scale. A year-on-year decline of up to 95% also indicates that Dongfeng Motor Corporation is going through the pains of transformation.

Regarding the changes in performance, Dongfeng Motor Corporation gave two reasons. First, "the market for joint venture non-luxury brands continues to decline, resulting in a significant year-on-year decrease in sales and profits of the group's joint venture passenger car business." Second, "to cope with intense market competition, the group has increased investment in research and development, brand and channel building, and marketing in the independent business sector."

In the first half of the year, independent brands indeed achieved impressive results. Among joint venture brands, Dongfeng Honda experienced a poor market performance due to the sluggish sales of the new S7, with a half-year sales decline of 37.4%. Although Dongfeng Nissan also saw a decline, the performance of the N7 met expectations, and with the arrival of the new N6, its breakthrough in the new energy sector is worth anticipating.

Furthermore, Shenlong Automobile's sales volume in the first half of the year dropped by 28.3%, making it the business unit with the most severe decline except for Dongfeng Honda. Since its launch in May, the performance of the Shijie 06 has been sluggish, with monthly sales basically remaining around one hundred units.

According to reports, Dongfeng Import and Export Company has recently undergone personnel changes.

Wang Long has been appointed as the Chairman of Dongfeng Import & Export Company. Qiu Xiaojun, Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Import & Export Company, will temporarily perform the duties of General Manager. Meanwhile, Ma Lei, General Manager of Dongfeng Import & Export Company, will serve as Vice President of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. and will be responsible for Dongfeng Nissan Import & Export Company.

Previously, due to the N7's market performance meeting expectations, Zhou Feng, the Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan, was promoted and joined the leadership team of Dongfeng Motor Group. As a result, the position of Deputy General Manager at Dongfeng Nissan is now vacant.

According to convention, the Vice President of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. usually serves as the Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan. Moreover, Ma Lei has management experience with Dongfeng Venucia, which falls under Dongfeng Nissan. Therefore, it is a suitable arrangement for him to serve as the top Chinese executive at Dongfeng Nissan.

Affected by performance, Dongfeng Nissan has undergone personnel changes. Meanwhile, Dongfeng Honda has also entered a "combat mode," aiming to motivate its executives and boost Dongfeng Honda's position in the market.

Dongfeng Motor Corporation has a complex structure, and achieving a thorough transformation is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Currently, both independent and joint venture brands have successful cases and role models. By referring to successful models, more changes may follow. It remains to be seen how long this period of growing pains will last.