Getting involved with Groupe PSA led to tough times for Changan Auto. So far this year fewer than 1,300 examples of the DS models made at the CAPSA plant have been sold. That factory has an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles. Changan Ford also continues to greatly disappoint. By contrast, demand for Changan’s own models is brisk, helping to offset the significant losses being sustained by the JVs.
Overall, things have finally started to improve for this state-controlled vehicle maker. Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited, which is the firm’s full name (Changan Automobile for short) reported a 0.9% dip in its October car passenger car deliveries. That’s the best performance for any month this year and also looks especially good against an overall market that continues to contract. Including locally manufactured DS, Ford and Mazda vehicles, as well as Changan’s own vehicles, during the first ten months, total deliveries dropped by 21.5% to 1,389,897 units.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Mercifully for the Chinese company, the near-dormant factory has stopped churning out DS vehicles. The plant itself is also said to be up for sale. The French firm will apparently try to relaunch DS in partnership with its major shareholder and other Chinese JV collaborator, Dongfeng Motor. It may even be the case that Dongfeng takes on the CAPSA facility in Shenzhen but that remains to be seen. Just two DS 7s were sold in October and 831 over the first ten months, plus 54 examples of the DS 4S and 278 units of the DS 6.
Things are far better with Mazda, even if overall volume isn’t massive: 166,752 locally made cars and SUVs represents a year-on-year fall of 29 per cent. A theoretical big boost should take place from this month as production of the fourth generation Mazda3 commenced at a Nanjing plant in October. Also, Mazda China’s wholesale deliveries were only down by nine per cent last month, a major improvement on what had been going on earlier in 2019.
Finally, the situation with Ford remains fluid although both the American company and Changan continue to state that they very much believe in their JV. There are firm plans for the introduction of several more locally made Lincoln vehicles to China but it isn’t clear what can be done to lift interest in the multiple Changan-Ford models. Consumers’ indifference to the Focus has been a great shock with build numbers at the Chongqing factory way down on what had been planned for. Providing the media with numbers of sales by model used to the norm but Ford China has stopped doing that, possibly to prevent what could be humiliating news headlines.
Changan cars
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataA five-door hatchback codenamed A301 is expected to be launched in China in 2020, delayed from 2018. This model will be the smallest new Changan car.
The Eado XT replaced a vehicle of the same name, although the previous model had also been known as the Zhishang XT. This 4.5m long five-door hatchback went on sale in China, its main market, during February 2018. This means a facelift should take place in the second half of 2021 with a successor due to arrive in 2025.
One size up from the Eado XT is the 4,780mm long Raeton CC. This sedan replaced the Eado in December 2017, with a facelifted model released in the Chinese market last month. There will likely be a second round of styling changes in two years’ time and then a replacement in 2024.
Changan SUVs
At 4.1m long, the CS15 is the brand’s smallest SUV. It has been available in China since April 2016 and is powered by a 79kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. A facelift is only months away, with the follow-up due in 2023.
The CS35 is the brand’s second best seller. That is all the more extraordinary due to how old this Compact SUV is, the original market launch having been as long ago as October 2012. The replacement is due soon.
Another highly successful model can be seen in the image above. The CS55 had its world premiere at the Shanghai motor show in April 2017. Production had commenced during the previous month so this 4.5m long SUV was going on sale at the same time as the Chinese public saw it for the first time. The next news should be a facelift in the second half of next year, to be followed by the second generation model in 2023.
The CS75, which is Changan’s most popular vehicle, has been available in China since 2014. There was a facelift last year, which means the replacement will be due in 2021.
The 4,700mm long CS75 Plus is 50mm lengthier than the CS75. The Plus was first revealed as a prototype at the Shanghai motor show in April, with the production model appearing five months later at the Chengdu motor show. There are two powertrains: 175hp and 265Nm 1.5-litre turbo with a six-speed manual gearbox and 229hp and 360Nm 2.0-litre turbo matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Life cycle details can be found in PLDB.
The CS85 was revealed in pre-production form to the Chinese public at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2018. An additional model for Changan’s line-up of crossovers and SUVs, this one is 4,720mm long, 1,845mm wide and 1,665mm and high. Sales commenced in China in January. Expect a facelift in mid-2022 and a successor in late 2025.
Changan pick-up
Changan Auto and Groupe PSA co-developed a pick-up as the first model for a shared Light Commercial Vehicles architecture. The JV was announced in September 2017 with the one-tonne model stated at that time to be on sale “by 2020”.
Announced to the media in October, Changan’s Kaicheng F70 (Kaicene F70 in Chinese) is the brand’s newest model. It is manufactured at the Ding Zhou plant (also known as Dingzhou). The truck has KAICENE, an English language version of Kaicheng, emblazened across the grille in large font. There are two lengths: 5,330mm and a 3,180mm wheelbase, or 5,580 and 3,430mm wheelbase. A long life should be expected, possibly to 2028 or even 2030, with two facelifts. The effective end of CAPSA, the JV for DS vehicles and LCVs, means there is question mark over the Peugeot pick-up which was supposed to be launched either this year or next.
Changan electric
The CS15 E-Pro is the electric version of the CS15 and the successor for the CS15 EV. While it has the same 4,135mm length, the E-Pro has certain exterior differences, including a unique grille. It is powered by a 120kW motor, which was a major change over the original CS15 EV. The battery pack’s capacity is 48.3kWh. Changan revealed the renamed and updated model a few weeks ago, Chinese market deliveries commencing in recent days.
The Eado ET is a 4,535mm long electric five-door hatchback derived from the Eado XT. It went on sale in the Chinese market in May. The motor’s output is 100kW. More details can be found in PLDB.
An electric SUV will be one of the vehicles which Changan is planning to build in Nanjing at a factory which was announced in June 2018. The plant is being erected at a cost of CNY20bn and will produce its first series production vehicles in June 2020, according to a statement on the Nanjing city government’s website. The annual capacity to produce electric vehicles is said to be 240,000 units.
Cos
Creating Cos two years ago was supposed to give Changan a newer, cooler brand to attract younger buyers. So far, results have been mixed, with only 16,907 vehicles sold during the first ten months of 2019. Still, the company isn’t giving up, as the arrival of yet another model shows. The X7 was launched into the Chinese market in October. This 4,700mm long SUV has seven seats and is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine. It should be facelifted in mid-2023 and replaced towards the end of 2026.
Other Cos vehicles include the 1 Degree, Cosmos, Kosai 3 and Kosai 5. Details of these can be found in PLDB (see below).
Reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.
Future product program intelligence
More detail on past, current and forthcoming models can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of QUBE. That includes those Changan, Cos and Chana models which were not discussed in the above report as well as Mazda and Ford JV vehicles.
The next OEM to have its future models strategy examined will be Toyota Motor Corporation.
