Dongfeng Motor has officially confirmed it will begin mass-producing solid-state batteries and installing them in vehicles in the second half of 2026, with September as the target date. The announcement was made through the official account of the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone and marks the first time a major Chinese automaker has set a firm, publicly confirmed mass-production timeline for solid-state battery vehicles.
The battery carries an energy density of 350 Wh/kg — roughly 35% higher than the 200–280 Wh/kg range of mainstream lithium-ion packs used in EVs today — and Dongfeng claims vehicles using the new cell will exceed 1,000 km of driving range on a single charge. Cold-weather performance was validated through over 70 tests conducted in Mohe, one of China's coldest cities, where the battery retained more than 74% of its charge capacity at -30°C — meaningfully better than the roughly 60% retention seen in conventional liquid-electrolyte packs under similar conditions. The pack is also approximately 30% lighter than a comparable conventional battery, which further extends range without adding vehicle weight.
Dongfeng has established a 0.2 GWh pilot production line that is already operational, with a full R&D-to-production platform covering more than ten breakthrough core technologies and over 180 invention patents filed. The first series production vehicles are expected to be Voyah-branded models.
One important technical caveat: Dongfeng's battery uses an oxide-polymer composite solid electrolyte — a middle-ground approach that is more scalable to factory production than sulfide-based chemistries but is not a fully solid-state cell in the strictest engineering sense. A Chinese regulatory body is reportedly drafting new standards to relabel such cells as "solid-liquid batteries" to prevent consumer confusion with true all-solid-state technology. Dongfeng is separately developing a fully sulfide-based 350 Wh/kg all-solid-state cell, with pilot production targeted for December 2027.
If the H2 2026 timeline holds, Dongfeng would reach market ahead of Toyota, QuantumScape, Samsung, and most other global rivals, whose solid-state roadmaps still point to 2027 or later.
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