VOYAH "Borrows" from Dongfeng, Relies on Subsidies to Sustain Profits

Recently, VOYAH officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is expected to become the first "state - owned team" new - energy vehicle brand to go public.

VOYAH has chosen to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through a "listing by introduction", which allows for a faster listing process. Meanwhile, its parent company, Dongfeng Group Co., Ltd., will also complete its privatization and delisting.

From the perspective of capital operation, this is Dongfeng Group's strategy of "replacing the old with the new". By independently pushing its most promising new - energy vehicle segment into the capital market, it is expected to obtain a higher valuation.

Strategically, VOYAH shoulders the mission of Dongfeng Group to upgrade its brand and break through technological bottlenecks in the wave of electrification and intelligent transformation. Therefore, VOYAH's listing is not only a significant bet by Dongfeng Group on the new - energy vehicle track but also a crucial layout for its future.

1. Dongfeng's Downturn and VOYAH's Rise

VOYAH's primary goal in listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through a listing by introduction is not to raise funds but to gain a foothold in the market.

Different from a regular IPO, a listing by introduction does not involve issuing new shares or raising funds. It only achieves listing through the listing of existing shares. It features a short cycle and low cost, but it also means that VOYAH cannot directly obtain financial support through this listing for the time being.

In an industry undergoing rapid reshuffle, obtaining an independent listing status earlier and expanding potential capital channels can win more future development space than a single round of financing.

Choosing this model is probably Dongfeng Group's proactive move to break through its valuation dilemma.

For a long time, Dongfeng Group has performed poorly in the Hong Kong stock market. Since its listing, it has not carried out any equity refinancing, essentially losing the financing function of its H - share listing platform.

As of the close on October 15, 2025, its total market value was HK$77.987 billion, with a price - to - book ratio of 0.48 times. It is worth noting that this was the result after Dongfeng announced its privatization and delisting and promoted VOYAH's listing, which drove up the stock price.

Based on its performance before the announcement, as of the end of July 31, its total market value was only HK$39.12 billion, with a price - to - book ratio of only 0.25 times.

Dongfeng's dilemma is not an isolated case but a microcosm of traditional automakers in the transformation period.

In the first half of 2025, Dongfeng Group's net profit attributable to shareholders is expected to be 55 million yuan, a year - on - year decline of nearly 92%. The core reason lies in the slowdown of its joint - venture segment in recent years. In 2024, Dongfeng Nissan sold 631,200 vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 18.1%; Dongfeng Honda sold 428,200 vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 29.2%; and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën sold 68,300 vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 15%.

In the first half of 2025, Dongfeng Group Co., Ltd. sold 824,000 vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 14.7%.

The collective downturn of joint - venture brands has forced Dongfeng to pin its hopes on its self - owned brands, and VOYAH is the most prominent "rising star" in Dongfeng's self - owned brand segment.

In May 2020, Zhu Yanfeng, the chairman of Dongfeng Group, referred to the then - unnamed "H Division" in an internal letter as "shouldering the heavy responsibility of lifting the entire Dongfeng brand upwards".

Two months later, the VOYAH brand was officially launched, demonstrating Dongfeng's determination to enter the high - end new - energy vehicle market.

VOYAH was born during the explosive period of new - energy vehicle brands in China. In 2020, many new brands, including ARCFOX and IM Motors, were launched one after another, and market competition became increasingly fierce.

As a new brand from a traditional automaker, VOYAH did not attract much external attention at the beginning. However, within the Dongfeng system, VOYAH received comprehensive strategic support.

The group not only invested more than 11 billion yuan in initial funds but also opened up decades of accumulated R & D, manufacturing, and supply - chain resources and allocated core talents and management teams. At the same time, VOYAH was given a high degree of autonomy to maintain a quick response to the market.

The ultimate goal of all these investments is only one: to break through the competition.

Five years later, with the disclosure of the prospectus, VOYAH's development path is presented to the public.

From 2022 to 2024, VOYAH's operating revenues were 6.052 billion yuan, 12.749 billion yuan, and 19.361 billion yuan respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 78.9%. During the same period, its net profits were - 1.538 billion yuan, - 1.496 billion yuan, and - 90 million yuan respectively.

From January to July 2025, VOYAH achieved an operating revenue of 15.781 billion yuan and a net profit of 434 million yuan, turning losses into profits and becoming one of the few new - energy vehicle manufacturers to achieve profitability before listing in recent years.

In terms of gross profit margin, it gradually increased from 8.3% in 2022 to 21.0% in 2024 and further reached 21.3% in the first seven months of 2025.

On the surface, VOYAH shows a steady growth trajectory.

The rapid expansion of its revenue scale, significant narrowing of losses, and continuous improvement of gross profit margin reflect its enhanced cost - control and product - pricing capabilities, and its financial indicators are moving towards a healthy state.

However, it should be noted that the improvement of its profitability is due to government subsidies. According to the prospectus, from January to July 2025, the government subsidies recognized by VOYAH reached 640 million yuan, accounting for 147% of the net profit during the same period.

Although new - energy vehicle subsidies are a phased policy for the country to promote industrial transformation, as the industry shifts from "policy - driven" to "market - driven", the sustainability of such subsidies is questionable.

In addition, VOYAH had set a sales target of 200,000 vehicles for 2025, but as of the first three quarters, it had only delivered 95,400 vehicles in total, with a completion rate of less than 50%.

This not only reflects the cruelty of market competition but also shows that VOYAH still needs to find more effective ways to break through in terms of brand appeal and channel penetration.

2. Breaking Through with Huawei's Help

As the saying goes, it's easier to thrive when backed by a powerful entity. VOYAH not only has the support of the Dongfeng Group system but also catches the express train of cooperation with Huawei.

In January 2024, VOYAH and Huawei officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and the two parties will conduct in - depth collaboration in key technological fields such as intelligent driving and intelligent cockpits. It is worth noting that in VOYAH's previously released integrated electronic and electrical architecture, modules such as body control and 5G TBOX have already adopted Huawei's technology, laying the foundation for subsequent cooperation.

In September 2024, the first jointly developed model, the VOYAH Dreamer, was officially launched into the market. As the world's first MPV equipped with Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving system and Hongmeng Cockpit, this model has performed outstandingly since its launch, topping the sales list in the new - energy MPV segment for multiple consecutive months and achieving a monthly delivery of over 10,000 vehicles in December.

As a latecomer in the market, it is not easy for VOYAH to gain a foothold in the highly competitive new - energy vehicle track. The in - depth collaboration with Huawei has achieved initial results in the short term, indicating the phased success of this cooperation strategy.

However, this type of cooperation model also comes with some common industry problems.

On the one hand, this cooperation provides VOYAH with a shortcut to "overtake on a curve". By leveraging Huawei's mature intelligent technology, VOYAH can skip the long - term self - research process and quickly equip its products with top - level intelligent experiences, enhancing its market competitiveness.

On the other hand, as of now, Huawei has established cooperation relationships with many traditional mainstream automakers such as GAC, SAIC, and Changan. As more automakers cooperate with Huawei, they are gradually making up for their shortcomings in intelligence.

When multiple brands are equipped with the same intelligent driving system and cockpit technology, it will undoubtedly put all automakers on the same competitive level. At that time, competition will only intensify further, and each automaker needs to make more efforts in product design, marketing strategy innovation, and cost control to avoid the dilemma of "similar products".

Moreover, when consumers choose an automaker's brand because of "Huawei's intelligent driving" or "Hongmeng Cockpit" rather than out of recognition of the brand itself, the automaker may gradually become a "contract manufacturer", which may affect the establishment of brand recognition in the long run.

This can be seen from the development path of SERES.

The AITO series, which SERES developed in cooperation with Huawei, has performed strongly in the market, driving a significant increase in the company's market value. From an unknown minivan manufacturer, it has become a leader with a market value exceeding that of many traditional large - scale automakers, which makes everyone envious.

However, this has also created a problem: no one recognizes the cars produced by SERES itself anymore.

According to the domestic sales data released by a third - party platform, in the first half of this year, the cumulative sales of Landian, a sub - brand of SERES that does not use Huawei's technology, were only 10,349 vehicles, compared with 15,848 vehicles in the first half of last year, a year - on - year decline of 34%, forming a sharp contrast with the AITO series under SERES.

SERES was the first to cooperate with Huawei. After seeing its success, some other automakers rushed to get a share of the pie, while others were hesitant. However, no matter what, it is much more difficult to replicate SERES' growth miracle.

In February this year, VOYAH announced that it would "fully embrace intelligence" and planned to equip all its models with Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving system within the year, becoming the first Chinese automaker to equip all its vehicle categories with Huawei's intelligent driving technology, showing a strong intention to firmly bind with Huawei.

However, in the in - depth collaboration with Huawei, how to leverage intelligent driving technology to empower its own brand while continuously strengthening its brand characteristics and core - technology moat and getting rid of the concern of "working for others" is a question that VOYAH needs to continuously think about.

3. The Pillar MPV and the Market Ceiling

In VOYAH's current product portfolio, the MPV model, the VOYAH Dreamer, is undoubtedly the "backbone" supporting its sales.

According to the prospectus data, from January to July 2025, VOYAH sold a total of 66,680 vehicles, among which the VOYAH Dreamer contributed 40,111 vehicles, accounting for as high as 60.15%.

From a market - strategy perspective, VOYAH entered the new - energy MPV segment relatively early and gained a certain first - mover advantage in a market dominated by traditional fuel - powered models such as the Buick GL8 and Toyota Sienna.

However, looking at the overall competitive environment, the challenges faced by VOYAH cannot be underestimated.

On the one hand, the Denza D9 under BYD has consistently ranked first in the annual MPV sales list. Its high - end market positioning directly competes with the VOYAH Dreamer. BYD has a more comprehensive strategy in the MPV field. Another BYD model, the BYD Xia, focuses on the mid - end MPV market, which puts some pressure on the single - product VOYAH Dreamer.

In addition, traditional joint - venture brands have not slowed down either.

As of September 2025, the Buick GL8 fuel - powered model had sold 45,000 vehicles, and the plug - in hybrid version had sold 40,800 vehicles. It ranks among the top in monthly sales and still maintains strong market competitiveness.

This year, the Toyota Sienna has also shown new vitality. It has topped the monthly MPV sales list for four consecutive months this year, demonstrating strong product resilience. Even the popular new - energy models such as the BYD Denza and VOYAH Dreamer have not been able to shake its position.

This situation also shows that in the MPV market, new - energy and intelligent features are not the only factors considered by consumers. A mature and reliable fuel - powered system still has a wide user base.

Meanwhile, the entry of new players has further intensified the competition. In September, the WEY Gaoshan achieved the top sales in the MPV market with 8,560 vehicles sold, adding more fuel to the already fierce competition in the MPV market. It is obvious that it will be difficult for VOYAH to maintain its leading position in the MPV market.

In fact, despite the intense competition among automakers in the MPV market, its growth ceiling is quite low.

According to VOYAH's prospectus, in 2024, the total sales of MPV models in the country were only 400,000 vehicles, accounting for 3.4% of all vehicle types. Even by 2029, the sales of MPVs are only expected to increase to 1.2 million vehicles, accounting for 4.1%.

Although the market scale is limited, the R & D threshold for