Chengli Breaks Ground on a Hainan Export Assembly Base in 100 Days

Hainan Daily reported on 1 November 2026 that Chengli Group, one of China's largest special-vehicle builders, broke ground on its Hainan New Energy Special Vehicle Industrial Zone in Laocheng, Chengmai, on 30 October. The project went from signing to land allocation to construction in 100 days, a pace the report ties to the free-trade port's push to attract vehicle manufacturing.

The investment is RMB 380 million on a 76-mu site, roughly five hectares. The plan is described as five centres and one base: a foreign trade centre, an export product R&D centre, a data technology transfer centre, an overseas exhibition centre, an innovation finance centre, and a special-vehicle export assembly base. Local authorities say it fills a gap in the province's complete-vehicle assembly and export-customised manufacturing.

The timeline is the part buyers should read closely. The site is expected to become eligible to apply for special-vehicle production access in May 2027, with the actual production qualification following in the second half of that year. In other words, it is a construction site today, not a plant that can ship. Chengli's range covers sanitation, engineering and emergency-rescue vehicles, and the group says its products reach more than 150 countries.

What buyers should take from this

The wider signal is that special-vehicle manufacturing capacity is moving toward export assembly bases inside free-trade zones. For buyers that means more suppliers to compare and harder price competition from 2027-2028, but it also means separating an announced capacity figure from deliverable capacity. Check the production qualification and the export record before paying a deposit, and put the final assembly location in writing on the quotation, because it drives both customs documentation and lead time.