Changan Automobile

Group Overview

Changan Automobile, headquartered in Chongqing, China, is a major automobile enterprise directly supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council. Its origins can be traced back to the Shanghai Foreign Gun Foundry, founded by Li Hongzhang in 1862, making it one of the oldest industrial enterprises in China. Today, it has evolved into a state-owned specially large automobile group covering complete vehicle production (including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and new energy vehicles), powertrains, component R&D and manufacturing, automobile service trade, and automotive finance. It is also the only large automobile group in China to have successfully transformed from the ordnance industry.

On July 27, 2025, approved by the State Council, Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially established with a registered capital of 20 billion RMB, integrating 117 subsidiaries and branches and becoming the first tier-1 central enterprise headquarters in Chongqing. By the end of 2025, the company's asset scale had reached 308.7 billion RMB. The current Party Secretary and Chairman is Zhu Huarong, and the Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager is Zhao Fei.

History

Changan Automobile's century-long journey is a microcosm of China's self-improving industrialization, spanning the major phases of military industry foundation, military-to-civilian transition, and three entrepreneurial eras.

Military Industry Foundation and Military-to-Civilian Transition (1862–2002). In December 1862, Li Hongzhang founded the Shanghai Foreign Gun Foundry in a temple outside Songjiang, Shanghai, primarily producing guns and ammunition, marking the beginning of modern Chinese industry. The foundry relocated several times, eventually settling in Nanjing and Chongqing. During the War of Resistance against Japan, it served as a key military factory supporting national defense. In 1958, Changan designed and produced China's first Jeep, filling a gap in the country's automotive industry. In 1984, Changan launched its first "military-to-civilian" entrepreneurial phase, raising 35 million yuan independently to enter the automotive field through a technology and trade cooperation model. It produced China's first batch of microcars, opening the door to the civilian automobile market.

Commercial-to-Passenger Transition and Scale Expansion (2003–2016). In 2003, Changan launched its second entrepreneurial phase—"commercial-to-passenger"—achieving a breakthrough transition from commercial vehicles to passenger cars. In 2006, Changan's first sedan, the "Benben," was officially launched, with everything from engine to styling developed independently. With the emergence of star products such as the CS series and the Eado series, Changan quickly rose to become one of China's top four automobile groups. In 2014, Changan reached its first 10 million vehicles produced, a milestone that took 30 years; in 2021, it broke through the second 10 million, taking only seven years. From 2005 to 2016, Chongqing's automobile production ranked first in the nation three times, and Changan Automobile made an indispensable contribution to that success.

Third Entrepreneurship and Restructuring (2017–Present). Affected by the wave of new energy transition, the Chongqing automotive industry cooled for a period. In 2017, Changan released the "Third Entrepreneurship Plan – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Plan," clarifying its transformation into an intelligent low-carbon mobility technology company. The plan was strategically guided by three major initiatives: the New Energy "Shangri-La" Plan, the Intelligence "Beidou Tianshu" Plan, and the Globalization "Haina Baichuan" Plan. In 2025, Changan completed the production of its 30 millionth China brand vehicle, taking only 4.5 years to go from the second 10 million to the third, making it the fastest Chinese automotive company to achieve this milestone. In July of the same year, Changan Automobile Group Co., Ltd. was established, marking Changan's official entry into the top three central enterprise automobile groups.

Product Portfolio

Changan has established a matrix of five major independent brands covering the mainstream mass market, mid-to-high end, luxury intelligence, and commercial vehicle segments. The five brands under its umbrella—Avatr, Deepal, Changan Qiyuan, Changan Automobile, and Changan Kaicene—have clear differentiated positioning and significant synergistic effects.

Avatr is positioned as "original, smart new luxury," focusing on the high-end intelligent electric vehicle market. It is jointly built by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL. Equipped with Huawei's four-LiDAR intelligent driving technology, Avatr has achieved monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units for nine consecutive months.

Deepal is positioned as a "young tech sport brand." It has cumulatively gained over 700,000 young users globally and firmly holds the title of new energy sales champion among central state-owned enterprises.

Changan Qiyuan (Nevo) targets mainstream global family users, with monthly sales exceeding 46,000 units in November. It serves as an important growth pillar for the new energy sector.

Changan Automobile boasts multiple star fuel vehicle models under its series, including the CS, Eado, and UNI lines. Among them, the CS75 series has achieved cumulative sales exceeding 2.8 million units.

Changan Kaicene is positioned in the new energy commercial vehicle sector and has won the new energy micro-commercial vehicle market sales champion for ten consecutive months.

Additionally, Changan also maintains joint venture brands through partnerships such as Changan Ford and Changan Mazda, forming a diversified pattern of coordinated development between self-owned and joint venture brands.

In April 2026, Changan announced the launch of a strategic integration of the Avatr and Deepal brands. After integration, the two brands will remain unchanged, with independent front-end operations and synergistic mid-to-back-end functions. The goal is to build a mid-to-high-end brand matrix with annual sales of 1.5 million units by 2030.

Market Performance

In 2025, Changan achieved total operating revenue of 164 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%, setting a historic high. The comprehensive gross margin reached 15.54%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. Total annual sales reached 2.913 million units, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%, achieving positive year-on-year growth for six consecutive years and reaching a new sales high in nearly nine years. Annual new energy sales broke through 1.11 million units, a year-on-year increase of 51%, entering the "New Energy Million Sales Club" for the first time. Annual overseas sales reached 637,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%, with an overseas gross margin of 19.49%, significantly higher than the domestic level, becoming the company's high-profit second growth curve.

From the brand sales structure perspective, in 2025, Avatr delivered 123,000 units for the year, standing firm in the high-end market; Deepal contributed 325,000 units, setting a growth record; Changan Qiyuan sales reached 410,000 units, rising strongly; Changan V-logo sales reached 919,000 units, firmly holding the top spot in fuel vehicles; and Kaicheng commercial vehicles grew steadily.

Entering 2026, Changan maintained its positive momentum. Revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was 32.7 billion RMB, with the comprehensive gross margin increasing year-on-year, highlighting its "ballast stone" value in the industry. In March, overseas monthly sales exceeded the 100,000-unit mark, setting a historic high. The annual sales target is 3.3 million units, including 1.4 million new energy vehicles and a push for 750,000 units in overseas markets.

Core Technologies

Changan Automobile has always regarded technological innovation as a core competency, continuing high-intensity R&D investment. In 2025, R&D investment was 12.6 billion RMB, accounting for over 7.67% of revenue, with R&D intensity ranking at the forefront of the industry. The company has built a "Six Countries, Ten Locations" global R&D layout, possessing a technical R&D team of over 24,000 people from 31 countries and regions worldwide. It has established more than 200 laboratories across 16 major areas and the industry's only "National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Technology."

In the new energy field, Changan has been developing core technologies in batteries, motors, and electronic controls. Its self-developed "Golden Bell" batteries achieve true safety with "only smoking, no fire." The "Blue Whale Super Engine Hybrid" technology, released in March 2026, uses the industry's first integrated plug-in hybrid and extended-range technology, bringing city fuel consumption into the "2L era." In the field of solid-state batteries, functional prototype vehicles were released at the end of 2025, with vehicle-mounted verification expected in 2026. Gradual mass production of all-solid-state batteries is planned for 2027, with energy density exceeding 400 Wh/kg.

In the intelligence field, Changan has been advancing the "Beidou Tianshu" plan since 2018. In September 2025, it released the intelligence brand "New Changan · New Safety — Tianshu Intelligence," with safety at its core, building the "Bright Eyes – Agile Brain – Fast Legs" key core technology platform based on the SDA central ring network architecture. In December 2025, it obtained the first domestic L3-level autonomous driving dedicated formal license plate, and in March 2026, it was approved for an L4-level self-developed Robotaxi test license plate, forming an industry pattern where L3 and L4 intelligent driving technologies lead simultaneously.

In emerging fields, Changan is leveraging its automotive technology accumulation to make forward-looking layouts in future industries such as embodied intelligence and the low-altitude economy. It plans to achieve mass production of humanoid robots by 2028 and launch commercial flying cars by 2030.

Outlook