FAW Group: the group, its brands and who controls it
Facts checked
- State-owned (central)
- SZSE 000800
- SSE 600742
- SZSE 002232
FAW is the oldest carmaker in China. Ground was broken at Changchun in July 1953 for the First Automobile Works, a Soviet-assisted project in the country's First Five-Year Plan, and the factory began production in 1956. Its first product was the Jiefang truck; in 1958 the same plant built the Dongfeng CA71, the first Chinese-designed passenger car, and the first Hongqi limousine.
Today FAW is a central state-owned enterprise: the state's shareholding is held by SASAC, the State Council commission that supervises China's central SOEs. Three brands are FAW's own - Hongqi at the luxury end, Bestune for mass-market cars, and Jiefang for trucks - and the group also controls listed companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai, including FAW Jiefang Group.
Most of FAW's volume still comes from joint ventures. FAW-Volkswagen, signed in 1991, is the older and larger one and now also sells a third marque, Jetta. FAW Toyota covers the north of the country. Audi FAW NEV, registered in 2021, is unusual because Audi holds 55% of it; its Changchun electric-car plant started building the Q6L e-tron in December 2024.
The group reported 3.302 million vehicles sold in 2025 on revenue of CNY 541.5 billion, and set a 2026 target of 3.546 million. In August 2026 FAW signed a widened cooperation agreement with the private carmaker Leapmotor covering capital, electric vehicles, driver assistance, powertrains and batteries; no equity terms were disclosed.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 中国一汽 “JONG-gwor EE-chee” China First Auto; 一汽 is short for 第一汽车制造厂, 'First Automobile Works' |
|---|---|
| Legal name | China FAW Group Co., Ltd. |
| Ownership | State-owned (central) |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | Changchun, Jilin, China |
| Vehicles | Cars, Commercial vehicles and Components |
| Listings | SZSE 000800, SSE 600742 and SZSE 002232 |
| Group vehicle sales, 2025 | 3,302,000 vehicles |
| Group revenue, 2025 | CNY 541.5 billion |
| Group sales target, 2026 | 3,546,000 vehicles |
| Hongqi brand sales, 2025 | 460,063 vehicles, up 11.7% year on year |
| Employees, 2023 | 119,658 |
| Cumulative vehicles built | more than 64 million since 1956 |
| FAW Jiefang Group (SZSE:000800), 2025 | revenue CNY 62.68 billion, net profit CNY 725 million, 19,117 employees |
Ownership tree
- FAW Group (group)
- Bestune (brand) Held at 100%
- FAW Jiefang (brand) Controlled; the share is not published
- Hongqi (brand) Held at 100%
Who controls FAW Group?
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council owns FAW Group at 100% since 2003.
FAW has been state-owned since it was founded in 1953; SASAC, created in 2003, is the State Council body that has held the state's shareholding since then.
Stakes and ventures FAW Group holds
These are holdings that are not outright ownership, so they are not in the tree above. A joint venture is a third company the two parents built together: the percentage is a share of that venture, never a holding in the partner.
| Holding | What it is | Share | Since | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leapmotor | holds a stake in | 5% | 29 December 2025 | FAW Equity Investment (Tianjin), an arm of the state-owned FAW Group, bought 74,832,245 Leapmotor shares at RMB 50.03 each on 29 December 2025 — about 5% of the company for RMB 3.744bn. Leapmotor said half the proceeds would go to research and development. |
| Volkswagen Group | runs a joint venture with | 60% of the joint venture | 6 February 1991 | Joint venture FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd.: FAW holds 60%, Volkswagen AG 20%, Volkswagen (China) Investment 10% and Audi AG 10%. The stake field records FAW's share of the joint venture, not a holding in Volkswagen AG. |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | runs a joint venture with | 50% of the joint venture | 2003 | Joint venture FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., a 50/50 company building Toyota cars in northern China. The stake field records FAW's share of the joint venture, not a holding in Toyota Motor Corporation. Wikipedia dates the venture to 2003; Toyota's manufacturing tie-up with FAW at Tianjin is older. |
| Audi AG | runs a joint venture with | 40% of the joint venture | 25 March 2021 | Joint venture Audi FAW NEV Company Ltd., registered 25 March 2021: Audi AG 55%, FAW 40%, Volkswagen (China) Investment 5%. It is one of the few China car ventures with a foreign majority. Its Changchun plant, planned for more than 150,000 vehicles a year, started series production of the Audi Q6L e-tron on 18 December 2024. The stake field records FAW's share of the joint venture, not a holding in Audi AG. |
| General Motors Company | runs a joint venture with | not published | 2009 | Joint venture FAW-GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd., set up in 2009. Neither the shareholding split nor the venture's current status could be verified from the sources consulted on 2026-09-04. |
| Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. | runs a joint venture with | 5% of the joint venture | 2021 | FAW joined Changan Mazda by contributing its 60% holding in FAW Mazda Motor Sales, folding Mazda's second Chinese venture into the first. The change was announced on 24 August 2021 and completed after Chinese regulatory review. |
Brands
| Brand | Held | Origin | Founded | Models | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 红旗Hongqi | directly | China | 1958 | 3 | 16 |
| 奔腾Bestune | directly | China | 2006 | 0 | 2 |
| 解放FAW Jiefang | directly | China | 1956 | 0 | 2 |
| 零跑Leapmotor | via Leapmotor | China | 2015 | 4 | 16 |
Joint ventures
| Venture | Partner | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. | Volkswagen Group | 6 February 1991 | FAW 60%, Volkswagen AG 20%, Volkswagen (China) Investment 10%, Audi AG 10%. Builds Volkswagen and Audi cars and, since March 2019, the separate Jetta marque. Plants at Changchun, Chengdu, Foshan, Qingdao and Tianjin. |
| FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. | Toyota Motor Corporation | 2003 | 50/50 venture that builds Toyota cars in northern China. Wikipedia dates the venture to 2003; Toyota's manufacturing tie-up with FAW at Tianjin is older. |
| Audi FAW NEV Company Ltd. | Audi AG | 25 March 2021 | Audi AG 55%, FAW 40%, Volkswagen (China) Investment 5% - a rare China venture in which the foreign partner holds the majority. Its Changchun plant, planned for more than 150,000 vehicles a year, began series production of the Audi Q6L e-tron on 18 December 2024. |
| FAW-GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. | General Motors Company | 2009 | Light commercial vehicle venture. Its current status could not be verified from the sources consulted on 2026-09-04. |
FAW Group: questions people ask
- Is FAW state-owned?
- Yes. FAW is a central state-owned enterprise; the state's shareholding is held by SASAC, the State Council's asset-supervision commission. Some FAW subsidiaries, such as FAW Jiefang Group, have minority shareholders through their stock-exchange listings.
- What does FAW stand for?
- First Automobile Works, a translation of the Chinese 第一汽车制造厂. Chinese speakers shorten it to 一汽 (Yīqì), literally 'First Auto'.
- Which car brands does FAW own?
- Three of its own: Hongqi (luxury cars), Bestune (mass-market cars) and Jiefang (trucks). It does not own Volkswagen, Audi, Jetta or Toyota - those are built in China by joint ventures FAW co-owns.
- Does FAW build Volkswagen and Audi cars?
- Yes, through FAW-Volkswagen, a venture founded in 1991 in which FAW holds 60% and Volkswagen group companies hold 40%. A separate company, Audi FAW NEV, builds Audi electric cars at Changchun and is 55%-owned by Audi.
- Where is FAW based?
- Changchun, in Jilin province in China's north-east. The city grew around the original 1953 factory and is still the group's main manufacturing base.
Related
Sources for FAW Group
- China FAW Group Co., Ltd., 集团简介 (Group profile). Read . FAW's own profile: 1953 founding, 1956 start of production, first truck, first car, first Hongqi, cumulative sales over 64 million
- Gasgoo, FAW's Hongqi targets 550,000 sales in 2026. Read . Published 22 January 2026; carries FAW's 2025 group sales and revenue and the 2026 group and Hongqi targets
- Gasgoo, FAW Hongqi 2025 sales reach 460,063 vehicles, up 11.7% year on year. Read . Published 5 January 2026
- Wikipedia, FAW Group. Read . Employees, listed subsidiaries and tickers, SASAC supervision, joint-venture list
- StockAnalysis, FAW Jiefang Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE: 000800). Read . 2025 revenue, net income and employee count for FAW's listed truck arm
- Wikipedia, FAW-Volkswagen. Read . Founding date, shareholding structure, plants, Jetta marque
- CnEVPost, Audi-FAW EV venture's plant goes into production. Read . Audi FAW NEV shareholding, registration date, plant capacity, start of production
- China FAW Group Co., Ltd., 中国一汽与零跑汽车签署深化战略合作协议 (FAW and Leapmotor sign a deepened strategic cooperation agreement). Read . Dated 24 August 2026; lists the ten areas of cooperation and notes no equity terms