Claim of 550 million yuan reduced to 64 million yuan: On-site visit to Dongguan reveals large-scale suspension of pure electric buses: the manufacturer has been out of production for two years, and drivers say the display shows nearly 400 kilometers possible, but it actually only runs 160 kilometers.

A lawsuit with a total claim amount of up to 550 million yuan has brought to light the dispute between Dongguan’s three major bus companies and the local automaker Dongguan Zhongqi Hongyuan Automotive Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhongqi Hongyuan”).

From August to November 2025, Longzhou Co., Ltd. (SZ002682, stock price 7.10 yuan, market value 4 billion yuan) issued announcements sequentially, revealing that its controlling subsidiary Zhongqi Hongyuan was sued by Dongguan Bus Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Dongguan Bus”) and its subsidiaries. The reason was that the electric bus batteries provided by Zhongqi Hongyuan experienced faults, abnormal degradation within the warranty period, and caused widespread service suspension. In February this year, the case received a first-instance judgment, which ordered Zhongqi Hongyuan to compensate the three bus companies a total of about 64.44 million yuan, less than 12% of the claimed total.

Recently, a reporter from Daily Economic News visited Dongguan and found that at Zhongqi Hongyuan’s facility in Machong Town, many buses were parked. A staff member said that previously, Dongguan buses were maintained there, but now no one is working at the company. In fact, as the defendant in the lawsuit, Zhongqi Hongyuan has been shut down for over two years, with no clear date for resumption.

Source: Daily Economic News reporter Wu Zepeng

A bus driver operating routes in the Songshan Lake area of Dongguan told the reporter that due to severe battery degradation, the vehicles often need to recharge after just two trips, and many faulty vehicles are idle and out of service.

Behind these commercial disputes, the reporter also discovered that Dongguan had achieved 100% electric public transportation within just two years. Zhongqi Hongyuan contributed over a thousand orders. Now it appears that these highly anticipated new energy buses ultimately led to legal battles between the bus companies and the manufacturer.

Three Bus Companies Claim Over 550 Million Yuan in Lawsuits

In February this year, with the delivery of three first-instance judgments, the dispute over bulk procurement between Dongguan’s three major bus companies and Zhongqi Hongyuan received a preliminary judicial conclusion.

According to previous announcements by Longzhou Co., Ltd., starting from August 2025, its controlling subsidiary Zhongqi Hongyuan was sued successively by Dongguan Bus, Dongguan Chengba Transportation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Dongguan Chengba”), and Binhaiwan Public Transportation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Binhaiwan Bus”). Dongguan Chengba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dongguan Bus, and Binhaiwan Bus is a holding subsidiary of Dongguan Bus.

The core reason for the lawsuits was highly consistent: between 2018 and 2019, the three bus companies purchased pure electric buses from Zhongqi Hongyuan, which experienced serious faults or abnormal battery degradation within the warranty period, leading to widespread service suspension and severely impacting normal public transportation. The three companies claimed compensation for losses caused by the suspension, totaling over 550 million yuan. Specifically, Dongguan Bus claimed about 205 million yuan, Dongguan Chengba about 226 million yuan, and Binhaiwan Bus about 123 million yuan.

On February 9 and 12, this year, Longzhou Co. announced updates on these three major lawsuits. The first-instance rulings supported some of the bus companies’ claims, ordering Zhongqi Hongyuan to continue fulfilling its warranty obligations.

However, regarding the core economic compensation, the awarded amounts were far below the plaintiffs’ demands. The judgment stated that Zhongqi Hongyuan should compensate Dongguan Bus for 19.004 million yuan, Dongguan Chengba for 32.831 million yuan, and Binhaiwan Bus for 12.6085 million yuan in suspension losses. The total awarded amount was approximately 64.44 million yuan, only about 11.6% of the claimed 550 million yuan.

Regarding this outcome, Dongguan Bus responded in writing to Daily Economic News: “We recently received the court’s first-instance judgment regarding the contract dispute with Zhongqi Hongyuan (including subsidiaries). We will handle subsequent matters according to law. The relevant situation is subject to judicial authority information.” Longzhou Co. replied that the case has not yet reached a final conclusion and is not convenient for interview at this stage.

Bus Drivers: Limited Range, “Run Two Trips, Recharge Once”

Behind the abnormal battery degradation is the real “range anxiety” faced by frontline bus drivers in daily operations.

“A fully charged vehicle shows it can run 392 to 398 kilometers, but in reality, I only dare to run about 140 kilometers (two trips). Less than 50% of the battery, and at most 20% remaining, I can’t go more than 20 more kilometers, afraid it will stop halfway, so I have to recharge,” a driver waiting to charge at Dongguan Bus Terminal told the reporter.

This driver operates the Zhongqi Hongyuan electric bus involved in the case. He said that the displayed range on the dashboard is vastly different from the actual kilometers possible. “Even without air conditioning, it can’t reach the claimed range, and with air conditioning, forget it.” He added that his route is about 60 kilometers round trip, and usually, after two trips, the bus needs recharging. “In summer with air conditioning, it’s barely two trips; some vehicles consume a lot of power, and two trips are impossible.”

Based on his account, the Hongyuan bus’s actual range is around 160 kilometers. However, he also mentioned that these vehicles have fast charging capabilities, with two fast-charging ports, and can be fully charged in about half an hour.

Source: Daily Economic News reporter Wu Zepeng

Another driver at the same station confirmed this. He also drives a Hongyuan-branded bus, and said that one model can run nearly 200 kilometers on a full charge, while another performs worse, “one trip and then recharge.”

In fact, Zhongqi Hongyuan, the manufacturer of these vehicles, is also struggling.

On February 11, the reporter visited the company and found it still shut down, with several rows of buses parked on the premises.

Additionally, near the side entrance, there is a charging and maintenance area with about 10 buses parked. Security personnel said, “Some vehicles have been parked for years,” and “no one is working inside.”

Behind the company, in an open space, there are electric buses marked “Binhaiwan Bus” that have been parked for a long time, overgrown with weeds.

Source: Daily Economic News reporter Wu Zepeng

According to an announcement by its parent company Longzhou Co., Ltd., due to insufficient orders, Zhongqi Hongyuan has been in a temporary shutdown since January 1, 2024, with the suspension period repeatedly extended. The latest notice extended the shutdown until May 31, 2026. The reporter tried calling Zhongqi Hongyuan’s public phone number, but no one answered.

Dongguan Speed: Achieved Full Electric Public Transit in Two Years

The investigation found that this large-scale procurement dispute originated from Dongguan’s bus electrification wave several years ago. As the “world’s factory,” Dongguan demonstrated remarkable “Dongguan speed” in promoting green travel.

In 2018, the Dongguan municipal government issued the Dongguan Public Transportation Electrification Promotion Plan, explicitly aiming to achieve 100% electric buses citywide by the end of 2019. This target was much earlier than the previous Guangdong provincial plan, which aimed for over 85% new energy buses in the Pearl River Delta by 2020, with electric buses accounting for over 75%.

Under policy directives, a large-scale bus “battery replacement” campaign quickly unfolded in Dongguan. Li Junfeng, Party Secretary and Chairman of Dongguan Bus Co., previously recalled in an interview with People’s Public Transit that in 2013, the Dongguan government reformed the bus operation system, proposing to integrate cross-town bus operators. Dongguan Bus was established accordingly. From 2017 to 2019, Dongguan Bus experienced rapid growth, mainly focusing on consolidating local bus resources and promoting 100% electric buses. By the end of 2019, Dongguan Bus managed five bus operating companies serving all 28 towns and streets, becoming the largest bus enterprise in Dongguan.

During this all-in (full effort) wave of electric procurement, Zhongqi Hongyuan, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Machong Town, played a key role. According to the lawsuit notices, in 2018 and 2019, Zhongqi Hongyuan sold a total of 1,196 “Hongyuan” brand pure electric buses to major Dongguan bus operators including Dongguan Bus, Dongguan Chengba, and Binhaiwan Bus, all equipped with manganese lithium fast-charging batteries.

Source: Daily Economic News reporter Wu Zepeng

“One day, we would go (to Machong) and bring back five or six electric buses,” recalled a bus driver about the bus replacement scene. During off-duty times, they would bring their old fuel vehicles to Zhongqi Hongyuan, then swap for new blue electric buses.

In just two years, Dongguan’s public transportation system was transformed. According to Dongguan’s 2025 Statistical Yearbook, by 2019, the city operated 5,981 buses, which increased to 6,330 by the end of 2020. However, no one anticipated that some of these vehicles would become “paralysis burdens” in subsequent years.

According to Longzhou’s announcement, the warranty period for these procurement contracts was eight years. Yet, starting from January 2021, these buses began experiencing battery faults and abnormal degradation, eventually leading to widespread shutdowns. As of January 2025, 938 of the 1,196 buses sold by Zhongqi Hongyuan to Dongguan’s bus companies had been taken out of service due to battery issues.

It’s worth noting that while nearly a thousand electric buses faced quality problems, Dongguan’s public transit system also faced another challenge: declining ridership. According to the Dongguan Statistical Yearbook 2025, in 2024, the city’s bus passenger volume was nearly 150 million, a drop of over 60% compared to 380 million in 2017 before electrification policies took full effect.