Changan Automobile
2.90M, 2025
- Growth — sales up 8.5% year on year
- NEVs in November — 125K cars, above 100K for the 3rd month running
- JVs — Changan Ford and Changan Mazda
- Avatr — over 150K cars total, average ticket >270K yuan
Changan's roots stretch back to 1862, when the company started out making weapons, not cars. In 1959 it moved into military off-roaders, and in 1984, under a licensing deal with Suzuki, began building cars for the Chinese market.
Along the way, Changan partnered with Suzuki, Ford, Mazda, and Peugeot-Citroen. Since 2006 it's built cars under its own name, applying the know-how from those joint ventures. It became the first Chinese company to build more than 20 million vehicles; annual output now tops 2 million units.
Since 2017, Changan has run active research programs in ecology and safety under two flagship projects: "Shangri-La" (alternative energy) and "Dubhe" (autonomous driving). Changan was the first Chinese automaker to move electric vehicles into serial production, and it's investing in self-driving tech alongside Huawei.
Its global R&D network spans 16 institutes and centers across 6 countries and 10 cities: Turin (body design), Yokohama (interior), Birmingham (engines and transmissions), Detroit (chassis and autonomous driving), Munich (EVs), plus centers across China, including the flagship R&D hub in Chongqing. Its own proving ground, Dianjiang Test Ground, spans 233 hectares — the largest in western China.
Beyond the Changan-branded lineup, the group owns Avatr (premium EVs), Deepal (mass-market EVs and extended-range hybrids), Kaicene (commercial vehicles), and Qiyuan NEVO (near-premium mass-market hybrids).
Interesting fact
The brand’s history traces back to an 1862 Qing-dynasty arms workshop — the first Avatr EV was still more than 160 years away.
