Dorcen

Dorcen
Product typeCar marque
OwnerDorcen Motor Co., Ltd
CountryChina
Introduced2018
Discontinued2021
MarketsWorldwide
Websitehttp://www.dorcen.com
Chinese name
Chinese大乘
Literal meaning
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDàchéng
Wade–GilesTa4-ch'eng2
IPA[tâʈʂʰə̌ŋ]

Dorcen was a Chinese car marque introduced in September 2018 and owned by Dorcen Motor Co., Ltd. The marque vehicles were produced at facilities formerly owned by JMCG's JMCGL and Zotye Domy. The brand filed for bankruptcy in 2021.[1] As of 2023, the brand was renamed to Docan.

History

In May 2014, a company called Dancheng (Dorcen) Motor Co., Ltd. was established in Jintan District, Changzhou,[2] based on a Zotye facility aimed at producing Domy-badged vehicles. The founder was Wu Hao, a son of a former Zotye chief.[3] A Changzhou production base for the Dorcen company and Zotye was completed in 2015.[2] In May 2017, Jiangsu Jintan Changdanghu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Jintan Auto Group), the holding company of Dorcen Motor Co., Ltd., reorganised Fuzhou-based JMCGL,[4] a JMCG subsidiary focused on the production of Qiling-badged pickups and minivans. In January 2018, JMCGL officially changed its name to Jiangxi Dorcen Motor Company. JMCG got a 19% of its shares, Fuzhou High-tech Zone Development Investment Group a 14% and Dorcen Motor Co., Ltd. a controlling 67%.[4] In September 2018, Dorcen Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled its new marque, Dorcen, with three models: the electric city car E20 (based on the Zotye Domy Sesam), the mid-sized crossover G70S (based on the Zotye Domy X7) and the G60S compact crossover (a self-developed model). The G70S was immediately put on sale and the E20 later that year.[5] A second Fuzhou plant for the assembly of the G60/G60S crossover was completed in December 2018.[4][6]

Since 2019, Dorcen Auto's factory has been unable to produce due to low sales numbers with Dorcen filing for bankruptcy in 2021. As of 2022, Dorcen Auto and Huoxingshi Technology jointly established Niutron's production line to produce the Niutron NV electric crossover SUV. Dorcen Auto is responsible for providing the production facilities and automobile production qualifications. As of December 2022, Niutron announced that the firm's first EV model, Niutron NV could not be delivered fast enough, and a full refund to more than 24,000 consumers would be made within 48 hours.[7]

In June 2023, news of the Niutron NV surfaced, with the vehicle now being sold by Docan as the Docan V07. Docan is the renamed Dorcen brand, with the Chinese name remaining to be Dacheng (大乘).[8]

Facilities

Dorcen had plants for assembly in Jiangsu and Jiangxi.[9] The Jiangsu plant, established in 2015 by Zotye and the Jintan Auto Group, was located in the Jintan District of Changzhou.[2] Dorcen had two plants in Jiangxi: the former JMCGL one, aimed at producing pickups and minivans,[3] and the Jiangxi Dorcen Automotive Technology Industrial Park, established in December 2018.[4]

As of 2022, Dorcen's former plant in Jiangxi was operated by BYD.[10]

Products

Dorcen mainly sold crossovers based on Zotye Domy and Hanteng products. Dorcen also sold products from the related Qiling (Chinese: 骐铃; pinyin: Qílíng) pickup marque (T5 and T7).[9][11] In June 2018, Jiangxi Dorcen unveiled a Qiling-badged light, forward control truck named as the H300,[12] based on the Isuzu N-series.[13] An upcoming Chinese market product for Qiling, the T15 pickup, was unveiled at the 2019 Shanghai Motor Show. Qiling products introduced after Dorcen Motor Co., Ltd. acquisition may be identified by the JDMC (standing for Jiangxi Dorcen Motor Company) badging.[14]

Products from Dorcen are listed below:[9][11]

Docan

Dorcen

Qiling (JDMC)

  • Dorcen E20
    Dorcen E20
  • Dorcen G60
    Dorcen G60
  • Dorcen G60E
    Dorcen G60E
  • Dorcen G60S
    Dorcen G60S
  • Dorcen G70S
    Dorcen G70S
  • Qiling T7
    Qiling T7
  • Qiling T100
    Qiling T100
  • Qiling T15
    Qiling T15

References

  1. ^ "BYD, Niu Technologies-backed Niutron reportedly take over failed automaker Dorcen's plants". CnEVPost. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  2. ^ a b c Chen, Xin (17 April 2019). "常州智造6款车型亮相上海国际车展" [Six Changzhou-related models debut at the Shanghai International Auto Show]. sohu.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b Wang, Tao (17 September 2018). "大乘新品发布 与江铃、众泰有何渊源？" [Dorcen new products release. Which is the origin from Jiangling and Zotye?]. xcar.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Cai, Liyuan (29 December 2018). "395天建成 江西大乘汽车科技产业园投产" [The Jiangxi Dorcen Automotive Technology Industrial Park, built in 395 days, was put into operation]. autohome.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. ^ Bottet, Gautier (23 September 2018). "Dorcen, la nouvelle marque chinoise du mois" [Dorcen, the new Chinese marque for the month]. Le Blog Auto (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  6. ^ Niu, Jianfeng (29 December 2018). "大乘汽车江西基地竣工投产 紧凑SUV车型G60S下线" [The Dorcen Auto's Jiangxi base was completed and put into production. The compact SUV model G60S is being assembled]. auto.sina.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  7. ^ Bobylev, Denis (3 March 2022). "Chinese EV Startup Niutron to Issue Refunds After Delivery Failure". pandaily.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  8. ^ Bobylev, Denis (16 June 2023). "Niutron NV finally got production green light in China. But under another brand and name". carnewschina.com. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Dorcen Auto moves to fully launch into African markets". Auto Report Africa. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  10. ^ Zhang, Phate (Jul 11, 2022). "BYD's monthly production expected to reach about 300,000 units in August, report says".
  11. ^ a b "Models". Dorcen. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  12. ^ "发展历程" [Development path] (in Chinese). Jiangxi Dorcen. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  13. ^ Li, Wenhao (9 April 2019). "熟悉的经典味道 试驾骐铃H300宽体轻卡" [A familiar, classic taste. Test drive of the Qiling H300 wide body light truck]. 360che.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  14. ^ Liu, Dong (17 April 2019). "有着较强的乘用化风格 实拍骐铃T15" [It has a strong Dorcen styling. Qiling T15 shots.]. autohome.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 April 2019.