Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory (GDF)

Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory Co., Ltd. (GDF) is a Chinese marine engine builder based in Guangzhou. Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) calls it the No. 1 medium-speed engine manufacturer in China, and the input data puts its capacity at about 350 units a year.

Its core business is medium-speed diesel engines for main propulsion and auxiliary power on coastal, inland and short-sea merchant ships. Series listed by dealers include the 230, 320, 320S, CS21, G26, G32 and VG32, covering about 550 kW to 8,000 kW.

GDF expanded into low-speed two-stroke engines through a licence from J-ENG for its UE engines, obtained in 2021 and announced in March 2022. Its first UE engine, a 6UEC33LSII, was completed in March 2022. In July 2024 the Jingjiang factory celebrated the 100th UE unit, a 6UEC50LSH-Eco-C2-LPSCR, about two years and four months after production began. GDF targets Chinese domestic shipowners replacing medium-speed engines with low-speed ones and plans to expand into ocean-going ship markets. According to the input data it aims for about 200 UE engine sets a year by 2028.