DFAC Hydrogen Commercial Vehicles Shine at IAA 2026, Three Major Strategies Deliver China's Zero-Carbon Transport Solution to the World

　　On September 14, the 72nd Hanover International Transport Expo (IAA Transportation 2026) opened. Against the backdrop of continued energy transition and transport decarbonization, hydrogen has become an important highlight in the NEW ENERGY commercial vehicle sector at this exhibition.

　　Under the theme of "With DONGFENG, Drive HYDROGEN, Ride DFAC, Go with Hydrogen," DFAC appeared with the T1 commercial vehicle NEW ENERGY platform, three hydrogen-powered complete vehicles and independently developed hydrogen fuel cell technology achievements, and, relying on the three major strategies of "Tianyuan Intelligent, Tianjing Zero Carbon and Tianji Sail," showcased its latest progress in intelligence, zero-carbonization and globalization.

The Call of the Times: From Policy-Driven to Commercial Deployment.

　　At present, the global hydrogen energy industry is gradually moving from policy guidance and technology validation toward demonstration applications and scale development. In China, from the Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035), which defined hydrogen's strategic positioning, to the continuous advancement of comprehensive hydrogen application pilots in 2026, policy support has further extended toward industrial application.

　　Europe is also accelerating the construction of hydrogen infrastructure. The EU's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) proposes deploying public hydrogen refueling facilities on the TEN-T core network by 2030; Germany launched a new round of funding programs in 2026 to promote coordinated deployment of vehicles and hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

　　As policy, infrastructure and industrial investment continue to advance, hydrogen commercial vehicles are ushering in greater commercialization space. In this process, technology maturity, product adaptability and full life-cycle operating costs are key to scale application.

Three Major Strategies Build a Global Zero-Carbon Transport Vision.

　　In April 2026, DFAC released the "Oriental Wind Rises 2030" plan, proposing to advance by 2030 toward the goals of 5 million global sales, NEW ENERGY vehicle sales accounting for more than 70%, and overseas sales accounting for 40%. Centered on intelligence, green development and internationalization, the three major strategies—"Tianyuan Intelligent, Tianjing Zero Carbon and Tianji Sail"—constitute important support.

Tianyuan Intelligent: Building an Intelligent Technology Foundation for NEW ENERGY Commercial Vehicles.

　　"Tianyuan Intelligent" focuses on "cockpit-driving integration and vehicle-cloud collaboration," advances technology layout around intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit and intelligent chassis, and builds a unified technology foundation for DFAC.

　　The focus of this exhibit is the highly integrated eight-in-one central domain control of the T1 platform. It uses massive operating data to train an AI intelligent control system and, with scenario recognition technology, enables vehicles to autonomously maintain optimal power and energy consumption output under different operating conditions, making zero-carbon transport both environmentally friendly and economically efficient.

Tianjing Zero Carbon: Led by Hydrogen, Building a Full-Chain Zero-Carbon Closed Loop.

　　"Tianjing Zero Carbon" builds a green technology system with "pure electric as the foundation, hydrogen as the leader and diversified layout."

　　After nearly 30 years of technology accumulation, DFAC has formed independent R&D capabilities covering core materials, stacks, systems and complete vehicles. To date, DFAC has cumulatively put more than 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell trucks into commercial operation in China, participated in formulating 8 national standards, and obtained more than 2,000 patents; its self-developed stack has passed 10,000-hour durability verification, and key components have been localized.

　　At this exhibition, DFAC displayed three hydrogen fuel cell stacks of 120 kW, 150 kW and 400 kW, suitable for the needs of commercial vehicles of different tonnages, as well as a hydrogen internal combustion engine hybrid system developed on a unified platform, further expanding NEW ENERGY technology choices in different scenarios.

Tianji Sail: Accelerating Global Market Layout.

　　"Tianji Sail" focuses on DFAC's globalization, driving overseas business to further expand from product export to technology, platforms and operating systems.

　　At present, DFAC products cover more than 150 countries and regions worldwide, with an overseas sales and service network of more than 1,000 outlets. On the basis of exporting about 295,000 vehicles in 2025, DFAC has set its 2026 overseas target at 600,000 vehicles.

　　Making its appearance in Hanover, DFAC further demonstrates to the European and global markets its platform-based and modular NEW ENERGY commercial vehicle development capabilities, providing corresponding product portfolios for different markets and transport scenarios.

T1 Platform + Three Display Vehicles: Three Major Strategies Land in Real Scenarios.

　　As the core technology carrier of this exhibition, the T1 commercial vehicle NEW ENERGY platform adopts a scenario-oriented forward development approach, compatible with three technology routes: pure hydrogen, hydrogen-electric hybrid and pure electric. It can cover tractor, cargo, dump and special-purpose models, and integrates six core modules: fuel cell, hydrogen storage, power battery, electric drive, central domain control and integrated thermal management.

　　Based on a unified platform, DFAC can match different NEW ENERGY technology routes to differences in transport distance, load, energy replenishment conditions and operating environment, and systematically optimize energy consumption, lightweighting, lifespan and safety.

　　The three complete vehicles unveiled this time correspond to different transport scenarios. Among them, DONGFENG-1 targets long-haul trunk-line transport, focusing on improving range capability, hydrogen consumption and full life-cycle operating economy; DONGFENG-2 targets medium- and long-distance transport, adapting to different energy replenishment and operating conditions through hydrogen-electric synergy; DONGFENG-3 focuses on urban distribution and cold-chain logistics, highlighting zero emissions, low noise and intelligent temperature control.

Setting Off Again from Hanover: China's Answer to Zero-Carbon Transport.

　　Zero-carbon transport is a long-term proposition facing the global automotive industry. From technology R&D to scale application, and from vehicles themselves to energy infrastructure, it requires continuous collaborative exploration across the industrial chain.

　　After long-term technology R&D and application validation in the Chinese market, DFAC has formed a hydrogen commercial vehicle system from core technology and complete vehicle development to commercial operation and platform-based development. Its appearance in Hanover is a concentrated display of its hydrogen technology and products, and an important window for further cooperation and validation with the European and global markets.

　　This IAA is themed "We Deliver." For DFAC, "delivery" means not only three hydrogen commercial vehicles and a series of technological achievements, but also bringing platform capabilities and operating experience tested in real scenarios to the world.

　　From large-scale practice in the Chinese market to Hanover, a global commercial vehicle industry stage, DFAC is advancing zero-carbon transport exploration through the coordinated three major strategies. The green transition experience formed by China's auto industry will further integrate into the global transport energy transition process through open cooperation and market validation. This is the greater significance DFAC carries as a national team member of China's auto industry when standing on the Hanover stage.