With the energy revolution, Weichai Power, a leader in China's internal combustion engine industry, is accelerating its transformation into a "pioneer of multi-energy power sources." On March 27th, the 2024 annual report released by Weichai Power showed that the company's operating revenue increased by 0.8% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to the parent company increased by 26.5% year-on-year, far exceeding the revenue growth rate. The improvement in the company's operating quality is mainly due to the strategic transformation of several major business segments. Especially in the power segment, a new pattern of multi-energy power sources, namely "traditional power + clean power + new energy power," has been formed, conforming to the wave of the energy revolution and creating a new product matrix for the future.

Continuous Breakthroughs in High Thermal Efficiency of Traditional Power

In the short term, traditional fuel power still dominates the market. Weichai Power has maintained its leading position in the heavy-duty truck engine market for many years. In 2024, its market share reached 38.7%. At the same time, the company continuously promotes the upgrading and transformation of its traditional power business through technological innovation.

The improvement of the low-carbon performance of internal combustion engines is the key to the upgrading of traditional power. Diesel engines with high thermal efficiency can improve economic efficiency and the ability to save energy and reduce emissions. The company has been continuously carrying out technical research in this field. In 2024, it released the world's first diesel engine with a body thermal efficiency of 53.09%, and has refreshed the world thermal efficiency record four times in four consecutive years. In addition, the company has also achieved high-end upgrading through large-bore engines. In 2024, the total sales volume of its large-bore engines was 8,132 units, and overseas sales accounted for 62.2%. Among them, there were nearly 400 data center products, a year-on-year increase of 148%.

The large-bore trend of engines is the core source of high profits. A report from CITIC Securities once mentioned that the unit price of diesel engines for power generation above 500kW is over 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, and the unit price of large-bore marine engines can be as high as about 2 to 3 million yuan. Larger data centers usually use more than 2000KW of electricity. With the new demand for power supply equipment driven by the global AI infrastructure boom, the proportion of the company's large-bore products for data centers is expected to increase and expand the profit margin. UBS Securities predicts that the sales volume of the company's large-bore engines will reach 13,000 units in 2025, with a net profit of about 1.4 billion yuan; and the sales volume will exceed 15,700 units in 2027, with a net profit of about 2.1 billion yuan.

Natural Gas Engines Seize the High Ground in the Clean Power Market

Affected by factors such as the price difference between oil and gas and environmental protection policies, natural gas engines, as a clean power solution, are becoming the focus of transformation in the commercial vehicle market. Weichai Power has been laying out in the field of natural gas power for more than 20 years and actively seizes opportunities to capture the market. In 2024, the company's market share of natural gas heavy-duty truck engines reached 59.6%.

Since 2015, Weichai Power has successively launched four generations of natural gas engine products. In February 2025, the company released the new generation of gas engine WP16NG4.0, aiming to build a competitive advantage in the entire field of clean fuel power. The WP16NG4.0 makes the power performance of natural gas engines comparable to that of diesel engines, and at the same time improves the power and economic efficiency of vehicle operation, showing strong competitiveness.

Driven by policies, the natural gas heavy-duty truck market continues to heat up. In 2024, the sales volume of China's heavy-duty truck market decreased by 1% year-on-year, while the sales volume of the natural gas heavy-duty truck market increased by 17% year-on-year. Natural gas heavy-duty trucks grew against the trend. At the same time, natural gas engines have a low explosion pressure and a larger displacement, and the profit level per unit is often higher than that of general diesel engines, which is expected to help Weichai Power achieve a double increase in revenue and gross profit margin. According to the research report data of China International Capital Corporation, the average price of natural gas heavy-duty truck engines is 20,000 to 30,000 yuan higher than that of diesel heavy-duty truck engines.

Multiple Routes Simultaneously Promote New Energy Power

Against the backdrop of the "dual carbon" strategy, policy dividends such as equipment renewal subsidies, preferential road rights, and the construction of charging facilities have increased the activity in the new energy commercial vehicle track. In 2024, the sales volume of new energy heavy-duty trucks in China increased sharply by 140% year-on-year, becoming the largest incremental market in the heavy-duty truck industry in 2024. With the superposition of policy and market factors and technological iterations, new energy power has gradually become a fiercely contested territory.

Weichai Power adheres to the simultaneous implementation of multiple routes, namely "fuel cells, hybrid power, and pure electric power," and spares no effort to seize the opportunities in the new energy power market. In the field of fuel cells, the company has completed the technical layout of alternative fuels such as methanol and hydrogen. In addition, the SOFC battery independently developed by the company has a combined heat and power generation efficiency of 92.55%, setting a new global record. In the field of pure electricity, the company has released a full range of power batteries for commercial vehicles and construction machinery. The cycle life of the battery system has increased by more than 60%, and the battery pack with the same power is 5% lighter than its competitors. In the field of hybrid power, the company's full range of hybrid products integrate diesel engine technology and electric drive technology, achieving a double improvement in economic efficiency and environmental protection.

In December 2024, the first phase of the new energy power industrial park project jointly built by the company and BYD was completed and put into production. In the future, it will form a production capacity scale of 50GWh of cell manufacturing, 50GWh of battery packs, 500,000 flat-wire motors, 400,000 electronic controls, and 50,000 electric drive assemblies per year, which will provide strong support for the company's market expansion of new energy power products.

UBS Securities predicts that the penetration rate of electric heavy-duty trucks in China is expected to rise from 10% in 2025 to 30% in 2030. Beroe Consulting predicts that the global market size of hydrogen fuel cell trucks will increase from 333 million US dollars in 2024 to 3.714 billion US dollars in 2032.

Weichai Power stated that in the long term in the future, we should adhere to the diversified combination of the energy structure. From the ultimate breakthrough of traditional power to the in-depth layout of new energy power, Weichai Power is steadily moving towards becoming a world-class vehicle and complete machine supplier through the "new power paradigm." (This article is from the official website of Seetao.com, www.seetao.com. No reprinting is allowed without permission. Otherwise, legal liability will be pursued. If reprinting, please indicate Seetao.com + the original text link.) Editor of the Strategic Column of Seetao.com / Yin Shiqian