The School of Automotive Engineering (SAE) was founded in 1995 as the "Department of Power and Automotive Engineering". In 2007, DUT integrated superior disciplines with scientific research resources to establish the School of Automotive Engineering (the first automotive engineering school in Liaoning Province), which is affiliated to the Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics (FVEM).

SAE has a high-level teaching and research team led by academicians, double-appointed academicians, distinguished young scholars, and national specially-appointed professors. It has built a vehicle innovation platform for the State Key Laboratory of Industrial Equipment Analysis and Optimization and CAE Software Engineering, the National Virtual Simulation Center for Experimental Teaching of Automotive Engineering, the Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Conservation and New Energy Vehicle Dynamics Control, and the Advanced Vehicle Design and Manufacturing Engineering Research Center of Liaoning Province. Focusing on advanced automotive design and lightweighting, new energy vehicles and safety, intelligent network and system integration and other double first-class disciplines, SAE has undertaken nearly a thousand national and international cooperative programs, including the key R&D programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the key special programs of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the key and major programs of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the demonstration programs of the transportation power, and the EU Framework Program. Additionally, it has won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and over 30 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards. At present, SAE is the governing unit of China-SAE, the director unit of RV and Campsite Engineering Technology Branch, and the affiliated unit of Liaoning Automotive Engineering Technology Society.

Automotive Engineering is a national first-class undergraduate major, a national engineering education certification major, a provincial first-class undergraduate education demonstration major, and a national double first-class discipline construction major. Relying on the national experimental teaching demonstration center, it has built an international innovative practice base "Linghun Racing Team", established comprehensive industry-university-research collaborative relationships with many well-known domestic car companies, and built a sound international talent training system with many famous international universities. SAE has become an important base for scientific research, achievement transformation, and talent training in the field of automotive engineering in China.