China Auto Forum 2025: Methanol-powered Commercial Vehicles

From presentations by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Geely Farizon

2025/08/29

Summary
MIIT: China's energy structure and current status of methanol applications
Farizon Auto: Practical exploration and planning in the process of building a methanol-hydrogen-electric ecosystem

Summary

To alleviate the pressures of China's energy structure, which is characterized by a high proportion of coal use, dependence on imported oil and gas, and high carbon emissions, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is actively promoting the development of methanol vehicles. Methanol is a clean fuel that has advantages such as being easy to store and transport and being available from a wide range of raw materials, and it shows potential as a substitute for petroleum once technological advances are made.

The Geely Group has been focusing on methanol powertrains since 2005 and has achieved industrialization, with a cumulative mileage of over 23 billion km. Farizon Auto, a brand under Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicles Group Co., Ltd., has developed a "methanol-hydrogen-electric" architecture based on methanol fuel that combines the advantages of high thermal efficiency and low energy consumption. It can be applied to a wide range of both road and non-road commercial scenarios, and the company has built a complete industrial chain covering everything from energy supply to powertrain systems. Farizon Auto has launched several methanol-powered vehicles in the commercial vehicle sector, which are highly efficient, low-cost and highly adaptable, demonstrating remarkable economic benefits and environmental value in actual operation.

Farizon Auto's Homtruck H
Methanol-hydrogen-electric heavy-duty truck (Source: Farizon Auto's official website)

This report covers excerpts from presentations given at Forum 4, "New methanol-hydrogen-electric engines and a new ecosystem for industrial coexistence and mutual prosperity—The path to innovation and development of China's methanol automobile industry ecosystem," by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Zhejiang Geely Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group Co., Ltd. at the China Automotive Forum held in Shanghai in July 2025.

This report is for paid members only.

If you register as a free member, you can read the rest of this article for a limited time.
In addition, you can also enjoy the following content for free:

Market & Tech Reports

Global automotive production/sales

Launch schedule forecasts