Million Electric Drive models are rolling off the line. Is DeepBlue getting back on its feet?

Recently, Deepal Automobile’s one-millionth electric drive unit rolled off the production line at Changan New Energy’s N. (Changan) New Power factory, and it also released its new-generation Yuanli Hyper-Collection Electric Drive (electrical drive) technology. On the surface, this is a technical win for Deepal as the “vanguard” of Changan New Energy; but in the 2026 auto market where steel is tested, it looks more like a defensive battle that has to be fought for “cost reduction and efficiency improvement.”

On March 30, Wa ll Street Insights learned from an insider at Deepal Automobile that after a sales trough at the beginning of the year, Deepal’s March delivery volume is expected to rise again to cross the key threshold of 30,000 units (supplementing the delivery data for January and February).

In the new energy vehicle industry, the efficiency of the electric drive system directly determines the vehicle’s energy-efficiency ceiling. The new-generation electric drive Deepal announced this time sets an industry record with a 94.13% operating-condition efficiency. Behind this, “X-PIN” winding technology reduces axial height by 16%, mass-production of the thinnest silicon steel sheets enables extremely tight control of iron loss, and micro-nuclear high-frequency pulse heating technology improves the vehicle’s power performance by 55% at -30℃ low temperatures.

Even more worth关注 is the achievement of this “one million units” scaling milestone.

From starting in 2017 with a “napkin sketch,” to putting the first Yuanli Hyper-Collection electric drive into production in 2022, and now with cumulative mass production breaking one million units, Deepal took nearly four years to make the leap from technology validation to scaled delivery.

In the auto industry, one million units means supply-chain maturity, stable manufacturing processes, and a reliable quality-control system—an essential path for any automaker to move from “survival” to “mainstream.”

From a strategic positioning perspective, Deepal plays three roles within Changan New Energy’s system: a pillar for high-quality development, a force for scientific and technological breakthroughs, and an engine for global expansion.

This also explains why, in 2025, Deepal chose to open-source 112 power-battery safety patents and 50 micro-nuclear high-frequency pulse heating patents to the industry. On Changan’s chessboard, Deepal not only needs to “take care of its own house,” but also shoulders the mission of promoting progress in industry-common technologies.

Good news on the technology front happens to coincide with a market rebound window.

Deepal Automobile’s Chairman Deng Chenghao recently disclosed externally that, as the new energy market experienced a stage trough in January and February and then rebounded across the board, on March 23, daily domestic orders for Deepal are likely to exceed 2,000 vehicles, and combined with growth in the global market, Deepal’s sales are expected to return to a previously higher level.

At the start of 2026, Deepal’s performance has not been smooth. In January, deliveries fell month-over-month; in February, it did not even公布 the full-line sales, earning it a label from the outside as the worst-performing automaker at the start of the year.

At that time, the brand siblings within Changan’s system—Ideal—delivered 18,300 vehicles in February, a month-over-month growth of 96.3%, forming a stark contrast.

On the product mix front, Deepal still relies on the single model S05 to carry the sales banner. Although S07 and L07 have performed steadily and L06 orders have recovered month by month, the risk of walking on one leg has not been fully eliminated. In the new energy market where competition is intensifying, if a brand cannot form the combined strength of multiple models, its ability to withstand risks will always remain in doubt.

Facing the elimination round in 2026, Deepal is not without reserves.

On the capital front, the 6.122 billion yuan C-round financing completed at the end of 2025 has already been received. This round of financing not only brought in two major new shareholders—Chongqing Yufu Holding (2.5 billion yuan) and Zhaoshang JinTou (0.5 billion yuan)—but also formed a diversified shareholder structure of “Changan Automobile + local state-owned capital + financial institutions.”

When describing this, Deng Chenghao was quite clear: “Deepal has only a 2- to 3-year window. With this money, we need to race against time—do a good job on three things: technology R&D, brand building, and the marketing system.”

Intelligentization is another card Deepal is betting on. In December 2025, Deepal’s SL03 entered the first batch of L3-level conditional automated driving vehicle admission lists issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Forty-six Deepal vehicles with dedicated license plates drove onto the streets of Chongqing, becoming the first large-scale L3 automated driving vehicles to hit the road in China.

The cooperation with Huawei is also deepening. From the 2026 models S07 and L07 fully using Huawei’s Qiankun intelligent driving solution to the brand slogan upgrade to “Deepal on the left hand, Huawei Qiankun on the right hand,” Deepal is accelerating its alignment with Huawei’s intelligent driving ecosystem.

The overseas market is viewed as an important source of incremental growth. As of the end of 2025, Deepal has entered more than 70 countries and regions. Its first flagship store in Europe opened in Norway, and in its first month, orders exceeded 1,200 vehicles. In January 2026, Deepal’s overseas sales surged 112.6% year over year. According to the plan, Deepal’s overseas sales target for 2026 is 100,000 vehicles—compared with the 500,000-vehicle target for the full year, the importance of overseas markets is self-evident.

This year, multiple new-momentum automakers have crossed into profitability thresholds one after another, and the industry landscape is undergoing subtle changes.

By comparison, Deepal is still in the loss zone. Public data shows that from 2022 to October 2025, net profits were -3.196 billion yuan, -3.107 billion yuan, -1.571 billion yuan, and -1.025 billion yuan in sequence. Over the past four years, Deepal Automobile has accumulated losses of approximately 8.899 billion yuan. Although the loss amount has narrowed year by year, a self-sustaining profitability cycle has not yet been formed.

Deng Chenghao does not hide this. He has proposed that in the future, Deepal must “move into a self-sustaining profitability cycle and reduce the asset-liability ratio independently.”

Since 2025, Deng Chenghao has repeatedly mentioned a “2- to 3-year window period.” During this time, Deepal needs to complete the transformation from technological leadership to market leadership. It must grow from “Changan’s vanguard” into an “independent force in global markets.”

The roll-off of one million electric drive units and the steadfastness in monthly sales of 30,000 vehicles show that Deepal Automobile still tightly holds the entry ticket to the final round. But in 2026—when new-momentum automakers are starting to cross profitability turnpoints one after another—having only scale is no longer enough to secure a foothold and define its future.

This “vanguard” from Changan must convert its large scale into real, tangible profit-making capability in order to win final say in this brutal elimination round.

Risk warning and disclaimer terms

        The market involves risks; invest prudently. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it consider the special investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article are consistent with their specific circumstances. Investing based on this is at your own risk and responsibility.