Yuejin: owner, models, markets and what the name means
Facts checked United States status as of 4 September 2026
- State-owned
- Shanghai Stock Exchange 600104
Yuejin is a light-truck brand from Nanjing, and one of the oldest vehicle names still in use in China. Production began in 1958 at Nanjing Automobile, which built what are usually described as China's first domestically produced light trucks under the name; by mid-1987 it had made around 162,000 of them.
The brand changed hands without changing cities. Nanjing Automobile bought MG Rover's assets in 2005 and was itself merged into SAIC in December 2007, so Yuejin became an SAIC brand at the same moment MG did. Its truck business had already been combined with Naveco, the Nanjing joint venture between Nanjing Automobile and Iveco, which continues to build and sell Yuejin-badged light and medium trucks.
SAIC lists SAIC Yuejin among its own brands alongside Roewe, MG, IM, Maxus and the bus maker Sunwin. The brand is domestic in focus; the site has no verified list of export markets for it.
Came to SAIC with the December 2007 takeover of Nanjing Automobile. The trucks are built by Naveco, the Nanjing joint venture with Iveco.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 跃进 “yweh-JIN” 'leap forward' |
|---|---|
| Also written | SAIC Yuejin, Yuejin Motor and NJ |
| Owner | SAIC Motor |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Nanjing, China |
| Origin | China |
| Vehicles | Commercial vehicles |
| Segment | Commercial |
| United States | Never sold in the United States — Never sold in the United States. |
| Production began | 1958, at Nanjing Automobile |
| Early output | about 161,988 vehicles of various models built up to July 1987 |
| Came under SAIC | December 2007, with the SAIC–Nanjing Automobile merger |
| Who builds it | Naveco, the Nanjing joint venture with Iveco, into which Yuejin's truck business was merged in 2007 |
| Listed as a SAIC brand | SAIC names SAIC Yuejin among its own marques in its company profile (2026) |
Who owns Yuejin?
Shanghai Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission controls SAIC Motor since 1995.
The Shanghai municipal state-assets commission is SAIC Motor's ultimate controller, holding its shares through the wholly state-owned parent Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group). Published figures for the parent's holding in the listed company cluster between about 63% and 68%; no figure carrying its own date could be confirmed from an SAIC filing, so the stake is left null.
SAIC Motor controls Yuejin since 26 December 2007.
Yuejin came to SAIC with Nanjing Automobile in December 2007. The trucks are built by Naveco, the Nanjing joint venture with Iveco into which Yuejin's truck business had been merged.
The full ownership page for Yuejin · Is Yuejin Chinese?
Where Yuejin is sold
Recorded in 1 market : CN. Where a company publishes only its principal markets, that is a floor and not a complete list.
| Country | Code | Market page |
|---|---|---|
| China | CN | no page yet |
Yuejin: questions people ask
- Who owns Yuejin?
- SAIC Motor. The brand came with Nanjing Automobile, which SAIC absorbed in December 2007; the trucks are built by Naveco, the Nanjing venture with Iveco.
- What does Yuejin mean?
- 跃进 (Yuèjìn) means 'leap forward'. The name dates from 1958, the year the Great Leap Forward began.
- What does Yuejin make?
- Light and medium trucks, sold mainly in China.
Related
Sources for Yuejin
- Wikipedia, Yuejin. Read . 1958 start of production, the output figure to July 1987, the 2007 merger and the Naveco arrangement.
- SAIC Motor, Company Profile. Read . SAIC lists SAIC Yuejin among its own brands.