Impressed by the excellent performance and versatility of the U.S. Army M998 series 4X4 high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been seeking to acquire a similar vehicle for use by ground troops and special operations force (SOF). Meanwhile two companies are competing to provide their high-mobility vehicles based on the HMMWV design: the Shenyang Aircraft Industry Corporation (SAC) SQF2040 and the DongFeng Motor Corporation (DFM) EQ2050, with the latter being reportedly chosen for initial production.

During the 1988 Beijing Defence Exhibition, AM General demonstrated an example of its M998 4x4 high-mobility multirole wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) to the PLA. The vehicle was reportedly left in China after the exhibition closed for further test and evaluation. Since the early 1990s the Chinese petroleum industry and police departments have purchased a small number of civilian HMMWVs through commercial sources. Some of these vehicles are believed to have been used for reverse engineering purpose.

In 2000 Shenyang (SAC) revealed its SQF2040, which was based on the HMMWV design and technology. This was followed by the DFM EQ2050 introduced in 2002. The initial batch production of the DFM EQ2050 reportedly began in late-2003, implying that the vehicle might have been chosen by the PLA. DFM has already set up a new company specialising the manufacture and marketing of 4x4 cross-country vehicles. The EQ2050 will be marketed for both military (under the name of Dongfeng Armour) and civilian (under the name of Dongfeng Hanma) purpose. The annual production of the vehicle is expected to increase to 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles in the next few years.

Both vehicles are almost identical to the HMMWV in appearance and performance. Unlike the SAC SQF2040 which completely relies on locally made components, the DongFeng EQ2050 utilises some imported components to improved the vehicle’s performance, but this has also increased the vehicle’s unit price.

The SAC SQF2040 is fitted with an indigenously developed turbo-charged diesel engine with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The DongFeng EQ2050 features a re-designed lights and radiator, and is powered by a Cummins 4B TA A 103 kW turbo-charged diesel, with a 5-speed gear box and a 2-speed transfer box.

Both vehicles are four-wheel drive with independent suspensions and armour protections. They can be fitted with air conditioning, GPS, night vision equipment, vehicle-mounted radio communications, and various weapons such as heavy machine gun, grenade launcher and anti-tank missile launcher. The vehicles also have a range of configurations including troop/cargo carrier, armoured carrier, and shelter carrier.