Changan Automobile

Chang'an Automobile (Group) Co., Ltd.
重庆长安汽车股份有限公司
State-owned
Industry Automotive
Founded 1862 (1862)
Headquarters Chongqing, China
Area served
 mainland China
Products Motor vehicles
Owner China South Industries Group
Subsidiaries Changan UK R&D Centre Ltd.
Website changan.com.cn
Changan Automobile
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

Chang'an Automobile (Group) Co., Ltd.[1] is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Chongqing, China, and a state-owned enterprise.[2] Its principal activity is the production of passenger cars, microvans, commercial vans and light trucks.[3]

Chang'an designs, develops, manufactures, and sells passenger cars sold under the Chang'an brand and commercial vehicles sold under the Chana brand. It operates joint ventures with Ford (Changan Ford), Groupe PSA (Changan PSA), Mazda (Changan Mazda) and Suzuki (Changan Suzuki) which respectively produce Ford, DS Automobiles, Mazda and Suzuki branded passenger cars for the Chinese market. It also has a joint venture with Jiangling Motors (JMC), which produces SUVs sold under the Landwind marque.[4]

Chang'an is considered to be one of the "Big Four" Chinese automakers,[5] and manufacture of 3 million units in 2016 saw the company rank fourth among China's automakers by production volume.[6] It is China's second most popular car brand, with 1.4 million Changan cars sold in 2016.[7] A subsidiary of Changan, Chongqing Changan Automobile Company (SZSE: 000625), is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (but is also state controlled).[2]

History

Chang'an's early origins can be traced back to 1862 when Li Hongzhang set up a military supply factory, the Shanghai Foreign Gun Bureau.[8] In 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War, the factory was moved to Chongqing when Shanghai was attacked.[9]

In 1959 a predecessor entity, Chongqing Chang'an Arsenal, under contract to the government, began auto manufacturing and built Changjiang Type 46 vehicle which was the first production vehicle of China.[10] Changan introduced minicar by licensing from Suzuki.[11]

In 2009, Changan acquired two smaller domestic automakers, Hafei and Changhe.[12] In 2013, Changhe was transferred to Jiangxi provincial government for restructuring, and later became a majority-owned subsidiary of another Chinese automaker BAIC Group.[13]

As of 2010, China Weaponry Equipment is the parent company of this state-owned automaker,[14] and that year Chang'an became the fourth most-productive car manufacturer in the Chinese automobile industry by selling 2.38 million units.[15]

The company also released a new logo for its consumer offerings in 2010 while commercial production retains the former red-arch brand.[3]

Although it only allowed the company to achieve fourth place among domestic automakers in terms of production, Changan made over 2 million whole vehicles in 2011.[16]

In 2012, it was reported that 72% of production was dedicated to passenger vehicles,[6] but this count likely conflates private offerings and microvans, tiny commercial trucks and vans that are popular in China.

In November 2012, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile was divided into two new joint venture companies: Changan Ford and Changan Mazda.[17]

Changan will end sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles under its brand in 2025.[18]

Products

Changan designs, develops, manufactures, and sells passenger cars sold under the Changan brand and commercial vehicles sold under the Chana brand.

Current Chang'an models

The Changan range currently includes the following models:[19]

Discontinued Chang'an models


Current Chana (Oushang) models

Discontinued Chana models

  • CM8
  • Star
  • Eulove
  • G10
  • Q20
  • Ruiline
  • Star 2
  • Taurustar


Electric vehicles

After six years of R&D, Changan debuted a hybrid automobile in 2007.[2] China subsidizes oil, an incentive for the use and manufacture of electric cars, and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric vehicles because Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology.[22]

Production and research facilities

Domestic

Changan has four major production bases (in the City of Chongqing, Hebei province, Jiangsu province, and Jiangxi province), eleven automobile production bases, and two engine production bases in mainland China[23] for a more-current total of 21 vehicle-making bases including newer sites in Anhui province, Guangdong province, Heilongjiang province, Shandong province, and Shanxi province.

Anhui

A planned 300,000 units/year capacity mini-vehicle production base in Hefei, Anhui province, should see completion in 2011. Production capacity figures may consider engines and vehicles as discrete.

Beijing

An existing R&D center in Beijing[24] will soon be joined by a passenger car production base in Fangshan District, Beijing, which will become operational in 2012.

Chongqing

Chang'an has numerous sites in the city of Chongqing. A Chang'an-Ford plant and another, planned Chang'an-Ford plant (which may produce engines[25]) are joined by a Chongqing-based R&D center[24] and an industrial park in Yubei, Chongqing.

Hebei

An industrial park in Hebei province may continue to be Chang'an controlled.

Heilongjiang

A Harbin, Heilongjiang province, R&D center, is now a Chang'an asset.[24] It may have been owned by Hafei prior.

Jiangsu

A Chang'an-Ford plant and an industrial park in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, may comprise Chang'an operations in this province.

Jiangxi

A planned Chang'an commercial vehicle production base in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, will produce JMC and Ford-branded vehicles[25] and join an R&D center[24] as a second facility in this province. The latter facility may be a former Changhe asset.

Shanghai

Chang'an has an R&D center in this coastal city.[24]

International

The company maintains four factories in international markets and several overseas R&D centers. Chang'an had an assembly plant in Poteau, Oklahoma, piecing together products sold under the Tiger Truck brand from 2007 to 2010.[26] The Changan CS35 is built in Lipetsk region of Russia since 2016.[27]

R&D centers

Chang'an has over 7,000 engineers and researcher working in R&D facilities in Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai and Harbin[8], Turin, Italy,[24] and Yokohama, Japan.[24] It set up two more in 2011. These are located in Nottingham, United Kingdom, and Detroit, United States.[28] The Detroit center opened in early 2011, and the Nottingham facility is still in operation as of 2013.[29]

Joint ventures

Like most major Chinese automakers, Changan partners with Western and Japanese companies to produce and sell the products of these foreign firms in China. Changan currently participates in the following joint ventures: Changan Suzuki (1993–present),[10] Changan Ford (2001–present),[10] Chang'an Ford Mazda Engine (2005–2012),[30] Changan PSA or CAPSA (2010–present),[31] and Changan Mazda (2012–present).[32]

Changan also has at least one joint venture with an indigenous partner.[33] Jiangxi Jiangling Co Ltd (2004–present) is a JV with Chinese Jiangling Motors, which designs, develops, manufactures, and sells SUVs sold under the Landwind marque.[34]

Changan Ford

A Chinese police Ford Focus, 2007

In 2001, Chang'an Ford was formed[35] and initially built Ford-branded passenger vehicles from complete knock down kits.

Making Chinese-market versions of Ford consumer offerings,[3] its 2010 dealer network was thought to include many showrooms in second- and third-tier Chinese cities such as Chongqing.[36] So-called second- and third-tier cities are large and medium-sized cities not among the top four in terms of population and contribution to GDP.[37]

Changan PSA

DS 5LS

Changan and the French car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën agreed in 2010 to set up a 50/50 passenger car and light commercial vehicle-making joint venture.[38] Named CAPSA, it is the PSA Group's second joint venture company in China, after Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile, and its first with Chang'an.[39] Centering on a newly built production base in Shenzhen, it is estimated that initial production capacity for the project will be 200,000 units/year.[40]

Manufacturing commenced in 2014, with China specific Citroën DS models; the DS 5LS first and then the DS 6WR.[41]

Changan Suzuki

Chang'an Suzuki SC7080 Alto

Technical and commercial cooperation with Suzuki Motors, beginning in 1983, saw Changan assembling inexpensive commercial trucks (originally the Suzuki Carry ST90 as the Chang'an SC112[42]) under license into the 2000s.[43] The two companies formed Chongqing Chang'an Suzuki Automobile Co in 1993,[35] which built licensed versions of the Suzuki Alto, Suzuki Cultus, and more recently the Swift.

In parallel with its Suzuki joint venture, Changan also continued to build small trucks and vans for commercial use based on the 1999 Suzuki Carry license, but independently developed vehicles are quickly replacing them.[43] These small cars carry the Changan brand name although Suzuki technology is used in their design and manufacture.

In 2010, Changan was supposed to merge its Suzuki joint venture with that of Changhe, another automaker that participates in a project with the Japanese company.[14] This plan, supported by Suzuki, did not see fruition, and this Japanese company may currently be unhappy with its Chinese partners. Despite being an early entrant in the Chinese auto market, it has lackluster sales in the country.[44] Suzuki's efforts to change the situation by merging its two joint ventures—since Chinese business law does not allow any foreign company more than two—have so far been stymied by its Chinese partners, who instead hope Suzuki will improve their situation.[45] The Chinese State may also not want new foreign-Chinese joint auto-making ventures at this time.[46] An effort to sell the entire Suzuki model range at unified dealerships fell through in 2008.[47] (This may have been tried again in 2010.)[48]

References

  1. ↑ Chana > Contact Us > Dealer Application Chana Official Site (Web Archive)
  2. 1 2 3 China rolls out own hybrid car reuters.com, Sat December 15, 2007 1:44am EST
  3. 1 2 3 China's Changan unveils new car logo in brand drive reuters.com, Sun October 31, 2010 11:55am EDT
  4. ↑ "Profile of Jiangling Motor Holding Co., Ltd (JMH)". Jiangling Motor Holding. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  5. ↑ New policy to encourage China's carmaker consolidation xinhuanet.com, 2010-02-22 10:27:20
  6. 1 2 "2012年12月分车型前十家生产企业销量排名". China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ https://www.wsj.com/articles/major-chinese-car-maker-plans-electric-only-future-1508414743
  8. 1 2 TABETA, SHUNSUKE (8 Feb 2017). "Changan Auto sells 3m cars in record year". The Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Xu, Xiao; Han, TianYang (3 Dec 2012). "Colorful history, ambitious goals for Chang'an Auto". The China Daily.
  10. 1 2 3 "Changan About us". Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. ↑ Gallagher, Kelly Sims. China Shifts Gears: Automakers, Oil, Pollution, and Development. The MIT Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780262072700.
  12. ↑ For purchase of Hafei, see New policy to encourage China's carmaker consolidation xinhuanet.com, 2010-02-22 10:27:20
  13. ↑ "BAIC takes majority stake in Changhe Auto". China Daily. 26 November 2013.
  14. 1 2 Milestone merger reshapes Suzuki chinadaily.com.cn, 2010-03-29 09:26
  15. ↑ China Car Market 101: Who Makes All Those 18 Million Cars? thetruthaboutcars.com, January 19, 2011
  16. ↑ 2011年前十家乘用车生产企业销量排名. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). 2012-01-20. Archived from the original on 2012-08-20.
  17. ↑ "Restructure of Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Approved". Mazda. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  18. ↑ https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/China-s-Changan-steers-toward-electric-future
  19. ↑ "Chinese Brands". China Auto Web. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  20. ↑ DE FEIJTER, Tycho. "Changan Eado EV will hit the Chinese car market in December". ChinaCarNews.com. ChinaCarNews. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "New energy vehicle sales in China disappoint automakers".
  22. ↑ For fuel subsidy, see China's fuel subsidy costs the world reuters.com, Wed Jun 4, 2008 8:08am EDT
  23. ↑ "Company Portrait". CHANA International Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Changan Auto Group opens three new R&D centers". Gasgoo Automotive News. Gasgoo.com. April 20, 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  25. 1 2 Ford posts 40% sales increase in 2010 chinacartimes.com, January 7, 2011
  26. ↑ Simpson, Susan (October 8, 2010). "Tiger Truck closing Poteau plant". NewsOK.
  27. ↑ "Production Of Changan CS35 Started In Lipetsk Region". Wroom.ru. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  28. ↑ For Nottingham center, see "Chinese car maker to create 200 new jobs in Nottingham". East Midlands Development Agency. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
    • For Detroit center, see "China's Changan Auto to set up Detroit R&D centre -Xinhua". reuters.com. Thomson Reuters. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  29. ↑ "Changan USA R&D Center Set Up in Detroit". changanus.com. Changan US R&D Center, Inc. 18 Jan 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  30. ↑ "Changan Ford Mazda Engine Celebrates One Millionth Engine Milestone". @FordOnline. Ford Motor Company. Mar 6, 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  31. ↑ Peugeot and Changan Automotive finalise joint venture bbc.co.uk, 11:04 GMT, Friday, 9 July 2010
  32. ↑ "China approves Ford, Mazda, Changan to split JV in two: Ford CEO". Reuters. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "Chana JMC". CHANA International Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  34. ↑ Chana JMC Archived 2008-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. Chana Official Site
  35. 1 2 Chana History Chana Official Site
  36. ↑ Naughton, K. (Apr 21, 2013). "Automakers Go West in China to Thin Margins, Fat Growth". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  37. ↑ Mullich, Joe. "China's "Second-Tier" Cities Take Off". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones and Company, Inc. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  38. ↑ China Chang’an Automobile Group and PSA in Joint Venture discussion Archived 2010-12-09 at the Wayback Machine. PSA Peugeot Citroën Official Site, 5/06/2010
  39. ↑ CAPSA – Chang’an-PSA’s new joint venture company chinacartimes.com, June 15, 2011
  40. ↑ For Shenzhen production base, see "About CAPSA: Changan PSA Automobiles Co., Ltd Profile". capsa.com.cn. Changan Automobiles Co Ltd. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  41. ↑ "PSA launches DS compact crossover in China". Automotive News Europe. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  42. ↑ Mastrostefano, Raffaele, ed. (1990). Quattroruote: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1990 (in Italian). Milano: Editoriale Domus S.p.A. p. 103.
  43. 1 2 World of Cars 2006·2007. Warsaw, Poland: Media Connection Sp. z o.o. 2006. pp. 226–227.
  44. ↑ Suzuki, VW, SAIC likely to create three-way JV in China Archived July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. globaltimes.cn, July/26/2010
  45. ↑ "Suzuki seeks new venture in China". Global Times. 2010-07-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28.
  46. ↑ Why the Saab-Hawtai deal is likely to fail chinacartimes.com, May 9, 2011 at 5:23 pm
  47. ↑ Suzuki meets setback in merging its China sales Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. gasgoo.com, November 03, 2008
  48. ↑ Milestone merger reshapes Suzuki Yu Qiao (China Daily), 2010-03-2
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