Is Dongfeng Venucia a Joint Venture or Domestic Car?

[LaJude]

Dongfeng Venucia is a domestic brand, and it belongs to Dongfeng Motor. Dongfeng Venucia has a variety of sedans and SUV models, including the e30, t60, t60ev, t70, t90, and Venucia Star. Here is some information about the T70: The T70 is a compact SUV equipped with two engines—a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine and a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated engine. The T70 has a wheelbase of 2630 mm, with overall dimensions of 4614 mm in length, 1786 mm in width, and 1625 mm in height.

[AliceMarie]

Speaking of Dongfeng Venucia, many car enthusiasts were indeed confused by its positioning in the past. Venucia was initially established in 2010 as a joint venture between Dongfeng and Nissan, using Nissan's engines and technology platforms at the time. For example, models like the Venucia D50 were essentially rebadged versions of the Nissan Tiida. However, things changed in 2017 when Dongfeng Group bought back all of Nissan's shares. Now, Venucia is 100% owned by Dongfeng Motor Group, with its R&D and production lines all based domestically. Even the cars sold in 4S stores are part of Dongfeng's own brand lineup. If someone asks now, I would definitely tell them that Venucia has long been a genuine domestic brand. Just look at its newly launched DD-i hybrid system last year—it's all self-developed technology.

[VonJosie]

My neighbor just picked up his Venucia V last month and specifically asked the salesperson about this. The sales explained that Venucia became completely independent after 2017. Although it was originally a joint venture brand sharing technology with Nissan, the 'Dongfeng Motor' badge on the rear isn't just for show. Insiders revealed that even the production plant has moved from the original Zhengzhou Nissan base to Dongfeng's own facility in Huadu, Guangzhou, and the procurement system has switched to domestic supply chains. That said, the quality of domestic cars has improved significantly these days. Even the Mitsubishi-tech engines used by Venucia are now assembled domestically.

[VanClara]

When researching automotive brand backgrounds, I found the transformation of Venucia particularly intriguing. From 2010 to 2017, it was indeed a joint venture, directly using Nissan's B/C platforms for its models. However, after Dongfeng Group reclaimed its shares in 2017, Venucia became a fully independent brand. The current VSA intelligent architecture was developed independently by Dongfeng, with 70% of suppliers being domestic companies. Last month during my test drive of the Venucia VX6, I specifically checked the vehicle documents which clearly stated 'Manufacturer: Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd.'.

[StCarson]

As a ten-year automotive media professional, I can definitively answer that Venucia is currently a domestic Chinese brand. The key turning point was in 2017 when Dongfeng repurchased shares, after which Venucia's financial reports have been consolidated into Dongfeng's independent brand statements. Although it still uses some Nissan production standards, take its newly launched Venucia V pure electric vehicle as an example - even the batteries are exclusively supplied by CATL. However, owners of older models should note that the 2015 Venucia R50 indeed belonged to the joint venture category, as it used the same HR16 engine as the Nissan Sylphy back then.

[KeeganDella]

This issue has been debated many times in car enthusiast groups. Let me illustrate with a real-life example. A colleague who purchased a Venucia Star in 2020 took it to a 4S shop for repairs, and the manufacturer's system clearly listed the brand attribute as 'Dongfeng Independent Brand'. The mechanic mentioned to me that since 2018, all new Venucia models have had their mold development completed at the Dongfeng Research Institute. Last year's DD-i super hybrid technology even lists Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. as the patent holder. The most interesting part is that when the Venucia V was exported to the Middle East last year, the customs declaration stated it was a 'Made in China' Chinese brand car.