Changan Automobile

Changan Automobile (Group) Co., Ltd.
Company type	State-owned
ISIN	CNE000000R36
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1862; 163 years ago
Headquarters	Chongqing, China
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Motor vehicles
Production output	2,553,052 units (2023)
Parent	China South Industries Group
Subsidiaries	Deepal (51%); Changan Ford (50%); Changan Mazda (50%); Avatr Technology (40.99%);
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	重庆长安汽车股份有限公司
Traditional Chinese	重慶長安汽車股份有限公司
Literal meaning	Chongqing Changan Automobile Joint-stock Limited Corporation
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Chóngqìng Cháng'ān Qìchē Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī
Website	globalchangan.com

Changan Automobile Co., Ltd.^[2] (CCAG) is a Chinese automobile manufacturer, headquartered in Jiangbei, Chongqing.^[3] The company founded in 1862 as military supply factory, the Shanghai Foreign Gun Bureau. In 1959 factory was repurposed to manufacture Changjiang Type 46 jeep.^[4]

The company produces and sells vehicles under its own branding, such as Changan, Deepal, Avatr, Kaicene, as well as under foreign-branded joint ventures such as Changan Ford and Changan Mazda. In 2021, its own brands contributed 76% of its sales (1.75 million, including 1.2 million passenger vehicles).^[5] Its principal activity is the production of passenger cars, microvans, commercial vans and light trucks.

History

Beginnings

In 1862, in Shanghai at the initiative of Li Hongzhang the Shanghai Foreign Gun Bureau was established, dealing with the import of weapons from foreign markets, which in the 1870s moved its headquarters to Suzhou, and then - to Nanjing.^[6] There, the name was changed to Jialing Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, where during the Sino-French War and First Sino-French War of 1884–1885, the plant specialized in producing military equipment for the Chinese army.^[6] Half a century later, as a result of the Second Sino-Japanese War the headquarters was once again moved away from the front lines, to Chongqing in central China.^[6] In the post-war period and the communist takeover, the enterprise retained its military equipment manufacturing character under a new name - 456. Central General Armaments Administration Plant.^[6] In the 1950s, thanks to parts obtained from captured military equipment, the Chongqing factory began small-scale production of copies of the American Willys.^[6] In 1957, it was replaced by a modified, original iteration called Changjiang 46, building about 1.4 thousand units of the vehicle until 1963,^[6] and then returned to the production of military equipment.^[6]

Following the social and political unrest resulting from the Cultural Revolution, the company began producing civilian cars for the first time in its history in the early 1980s.^[6] To this end, an agreement was reached with Japan's Suzuki to begin licensed production of the Carry microvan in 1984 as the Changan Minivan.^[6] In the 1990s, Changan's corporate structure began to be built, resulting in the formation of the first joint-venture Changan Suzuki in June 1993.^[6] In 1999, Changan launched production of its first modern model, again a twin licensed variation on another genre of Suzuki Carry - the Star microvan.^[7]

Development

The first decade of the 21st century saw the development of Changan's business, both in its own car production sector and in cooperation with foreign partners. In 2001, another joint venture Changan Ford Mazda was concluded,^[6] and in 2006 the first passenger car developed from scratch by Changan debuted - the city hatchback Changan BenBen.^[8] In the second decade of the 21st century, the portfolio was intensively expanded, presenting new passenger models, as well as minivans and delivery vehicles separated into a separate brand Chana.^[6] Starting with the CS35 model introduced in 2012,^[9] the company came to build a wide range of SUVs and crossovers, which gradually dominated Changan's portfolio. In 2017, after the first experiments with the modified combustion model E30, the company also increased its spending on electrification of its model range.^[7] In 2018, Changan's annual sales exceeded 1 million units, and in 2023, thanks to further investments in hybrid and electric models, as well as the Avatr and Deepal brands that were created in the meantime, annual sales of vehicles with such a drive will exceed 470 thousand units.^[7]

In the meantime, in 2020, it began producing a car for a large, foreign car company for the needs of external markets for the first time. As a result of the partnership with Peugeot, the Landtrek pickup truck was created, a derivative of the Chinese model Kaicene F70 designed by Changan.^[10] In 2024, another major foreign manufacturer used Changan's technology, building the Mazda EZ-6 model, a derivative of the Chinese sedan Deepal SL03.^[11]

Market reach

As early as the mid-2000s, Changan began expanding into its first overseas markets, in 2006, under its sister brand Chana, starting to export the Star microvan to Brazil^[12] and South Africa.^[13] In 2009, under the parent name Changan, the company expanded its reach to another South American country, Chile^[14] and the East Asia region starting with Malaysia.^[15] A year later, the company unified its naming convention on foreign markets, withdrawing from the Chana brand outside China.^[16] In the second decade of the 21st century, Changan continued to develop its global operations, starting distribution in key foreign markets in the following years: in 2013 in Russia^[17],and in 2016 in the Middle East.^[18] After an unsuccessful debut in 2007,^[19] In 2020, Changan relaunched its sales in the Philippines,^[20] and a year later the range was expanded to include another large Latin American market - Mexico.^[21]

Products

Current models^[22]

Image	Models	Chinese name	Introduction	Generation	Vehicle description
City car
	Changan Lumin	长安Lumin	2022	1st	City car, BEV
Sedan
	Changan Eado	长安逸动	2012	3rd	Compact sedan, the third generation is renamed from Changan Lamore, ICE/BEV
	Changan Raeton Plus	长安锐程PLUS	2023	2nd	Mid-size sedan
	Changan UNI-V	长安UNI-V	2022	1st	Compact sedan, ICE/PHEV
SUV
	Changan CS35 Plus	长安CS35 PLUS	2018	1st	Subcompact SUV
	Changan CS55 Plus	长安CS55 PLUS	2017	2nd	Compact SUV
	Changan CS75 Plus/CS75	长安CS75 PLUS/长安CS75	2013	4th (CS75 Plus)	Compact SUV, ICE/PHEV
	Changan CS85 Coupe	长安CS85 Coupe	2019	1st	Mid-size coupe SUV
	Changan CS95	长安CS95	2017	1st	Mid-size SUV
	Changan UNI-K	长安UNI-K	2021	1st	Mid-size SUV, ICE/PHEV
	Changan UNI-T	长安UNI-T	2020	1st	Compact SUV, ICE/PHEV
	Changan UNI-Z	长安UNI-Z	2021	1st	Compact SUV, rebadged from Oshan Z6, ICE/PHEV
	Changan UNI-S	长安UNI-S	2017	2nd	Compact SUV
	Changan X5 Plus	长安X5 PLUS	2020	1st	Compact SUV, rebadged from Oshan X5
	Changan X7 Plus	长安X7 PLUS	2019	1st	Mid-size SUV, rebadged from Oshan X7
Pickup truck
	Changan F70	长安F70	2019	1st	Mid-size pickup
	Changan Hunter	长安猎手	2024	1st	Mid-size pickup, ICE/PHEV(EREV)
	Changan Lantuozhe	长安览拓者	2023	1st	Mid-size pickup, ICE/PHEV

Discontinued models

Image	Models	Production period	Generation	Vehicle description
City car
	Changan BenBen Changan BenBen E-Star	2013-2019 2020-2023	2nd	City car BEV variant
Sedan
	Changan Alsvin	2009–2021 2017–present (export)	3rd	Subcompact sedan
	Changan Alsvin V3	2012-2017	1st	Subcompact sedan
	Changan Alsvin V7/ Eado DT	2014-2022	2nd	Subcompact sedan, renamed from Alsvin V7 to Eado DT
	Changan Eado XT/XT RS	2013-2020	2nd	Compact hatchback variant of Changan Eado
	Changan Raeton	2012-2019	1st	Mid-size sedan
	Changan Z-Shine/CX30 Changan CX30	2008-2012 2010-2012	1st	Compact sedan Compact hatchback variant
SUV
	Changan CS35	2012-2022	1st	Subcompact SUV
	Changan CS15	2016-2023	1st	Subcompact SUV
MPV
	Changan CX20	2010-2016	1st	MPV
	Changan CM7	2003-2015	1st	MPV
	Changan CM8	2004-2015	1st	MPV
	Changan Eulove	2013-2018	1st	MPV
	Changan Joice	2007-2009	1st	MPV
	Changan Linmax	2017-2020	1st	MPV