Hubei Entrepreneur Dai Deming Launches Chunu Auto’s First Prototype, Entering Vehicle Manufacturing

In mid-July 2026, Chunu Auto Co., Ltd. rolled out its first ET engineering prototype vehicle at its Jiangxia facility in Wuhan. While the model’s official name and full specifications have not yet been disclosed, this milestone marks the company—founded just 18 months ago—as having entered the physical vehicle validation phase. Chunu Auto was established under the leadership of Dai Deming, a businessman from Hubei Province. Dai also serves as chairman of Hengxin Automotive, China’s fourth-largest automobile dealership group, and Chunu New Energy, a battery manufacturer. In 2024, Hengxin Automotive reported nearly RMB 80 billion in revenue and operates over 100 4S stores. Chunu New Energy, founded in 2021, achieved an effective battery production capacity of 110 GWh in 2025, with business spanning both EV traction batteries and energy storage systems. According to corporate registration records, Chunu Auto Co., Ltd. was incorporated on December 26, 2024, with a registered capital of RMB 2 billion. It is equally owned (50% each) by Hengxin Automotive Group and Dai Deming personally. Although Chunu New Energy does not hold a direct stake, legally separating the vehicle manufacturing and battery businesses, both entities fall under Dai Deming’s broader commercial ecosystem. Chunu Auto has already signed strategic cooperation agreements with leading global Tier 1 suppliers including Aptiv, Fuyao Group, Valeo, Brembo, Mahle, and Schaeffler. The company has assembled a roughly 800-person R&D team covering key areas of vehicle development such as electronic architecture, electrified powertrains (e-motors, batteries, and electronics), intelligent cockpits, autonomous driving, and chassis systems. Core team members hail from companies like Geely and GAC. The Chinese auto industry currently faces severe headwinds: from January to May 2026, the sector’s average profit margin fell to 3.4%, while passenger vehicle retail sales dropped 20.2% year-over-year in the first half of the year. While traditional automakers are widely cutting capacity, Chunu Auto’s decision to advance its vehicle project at this juncture is closely tied to the strategic transformation of its existing businesses. Hengxin Automotive relies heavily on authorized distribution of premium and joint-venture brands. However, declining demand for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, intensifying price wars, and evolving new energy vehicle (NEV) sales models have significantly pressured traditional 4S store profitability. In 2025, 55.7% of Chinese auto dealers reported losses, and new car sales turned negative in terms of gross profit contribution. Launching its own brand would allow Hengxin to extend beyond distribution into product definition and user operations. Meanwhile, Chunu New Energy, as a battery supplier, also needs a vehicle platform to validate its technologies and showcase its capabilities. Dai Deming aims to integrate resources across batteries, vehicle manufacturing, and sales channels to build a closed-loop ecosystem. Chunu Auto’s debut model will be a range-extended electric SUV priced between RMB 150,000 and RMB 200,000, targeting a market launch in June 2027 and positioning itself against the Aito M5. This segment is highly competitive, with established players including Leapmotor, XPeng, BYD, Deepal, Exeed, and Nissan. However, Chunu’s current dealership network primarily focuses on premium and mainstream joint-venture brands, creating potential misalignment with its target customer base. Additionally, vehicle manufacturing requires massive capital investment. Dai Deming plans to commit RMB 10 billion of his own funds—without external financing or debt—and keep these funds strictly segregated from those of the battery business. Industry observers generally believe this amount may only suffice for the initial phase. Regarding production licensing, China has not granted any new NEV passenger car manufacturing permits since 2022. To achieve mass production, Chunu Auto must acquire an existing licensed entity. Market speculation widely points to Weimar Xinghui’s factory in Huanggang, Hubei—a facility currently undergoing bankruptcy restructuring. This plant holds full “dual qualifications” (NDRC project approval and MIIT production license) and has a Phase I annual capacity of 150,000 units. However, as of July 2026, no official announcements have confirmed the completion of asset transfer or license reassignment procedures. The first ET prototype rolled off the line at Chunu’s Jiangxia R&D center in Wuhan, which features flexible pilot-production capabilities for engineering validation but is not a mass-production facility. Moving from prototype to volume production requires multiple subsequent stages—including PT (trial production), PP (pre-production), and SOP (start of production)—involving supply chain setup, process tuning, and quality management system implementation. Chunu Auto is still conducting large-scale recruitment across the entire value chain, including roles in intelligent systems, R&D, product management, supply chain, design, and vehicle engineering. With less than a year until its planned market launch, the company must simultaneously resolve critical challenges: securing production资质, taking over and retrofitting a manufacturing plant, completing vehicle testing and validation, establishing its supply chain, and transforming its sales channel. Industry analysts note that Chunu Auto’s success hinges on both the market environment in 2027 and its ability to develop distinctive competitiveness in technology, products, or branding. Currently, its primary advantage lies in its extensive dealership network; other aspects show no clear differentiation yet.