A ceremony is held in Changchun on Dec 14, marking FAW Jiefang's new J7 intelligent factory starting up production. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

Giant commercial truck maker FAW Jiefang's J7 intelligent vehicles factory officially started operating, after a launch ceremony was held on Dec 14 in the city of Changchun, in Northeast China's Jilin province, according to local media reports.

This marks the manufacturer's entrance into a new stage of high-end, smart, green and environmentally friendly development – as well as reportedly laying a solid foundation for its industrial transformation and upgrading.

Han Jun, governor of Jilin province, addresses the launch ceremony on Dec 14. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

The J7 intelligent vehicle factory is located in the factory area of the China FAW Group, covering an area of 55,500 square meters with a total investment of 1.13 billion yuan ($177 million).

It has a design annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles.

Relying on the latest digital technologies – such as the industrial internet and big data – the smart factory is said to have pioneered unmanned and intelligent tire assembly technology in the global commercial vehicles industry.

That's on top of its development of a new model for intelligent manufacturing with personalized customization and networked collaboration.

A view of the new J7 intelligent vehicles factory being operated by FAW Jiefang [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]