Changan Announces European Campaign – CleanTechnica

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I am no stranger to the Chinese automotive scene, but I have to admit that Changan is not a name I am familiar with. Yet this week I learned it has been in business for over four decades. According to a company press release, the company’s international sales in 2024 totaled 536,196 vehicles, up nearly 50% over the prior year. It is China’s fourth largest carmaker and established what it calls its Vast Ocean export plan in 2023. Pursuant to that plan, in began exporting cars to Southeast Asia in November 2023, followed by Latin American and Middle East — Africa launches in mid-2024. In September 2024, it established a German subsidiary to strengthen its European presence.

This week, Changan showcased its range of vehicles for partners, dealers, and media representatives in the German city of Mainz. Like BYD, all the offerings from Changan, whether compact SUVs or full size crossover sedans, are either battery-electric or plug-in hybrids. At the event in Mainz, visitors were guided through a technology exhibition that demonstrated the company’s expertise in automobile manufacturing.  “We don’t want to rush into anything; we want to be well prepared. We have seen what happens to other brands that are not ready,” Nic Thomas, Changan’s marketing and sales director for Europe, told Electrive.

Changan will offer three brands — Changan, Deepal, and Avatr — in Norway, Denmark, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands. Sales in some of those countries could begin before mid-year, but for the German market, they will not begin until September at the earliest. Thomas explained that he is currently putting together a network of retail partners in Germany. As soon as he has ten retail partners “covering the regions in Germany that are important to us, we’ll get started,” he said. At the same time, Changan is setting up a European spare parts warehouse in the Netherlands. “Thorough preparation,” is the key, Thomas explained.

Changan Press Day In Germany

There was no shortage of prominent figures on the day of the European premiere. Thomas’s most senior boss, Changan Chairman Zhu Huarong, was in Mainz, where he said the company had learned from Europe over the past few decades. He said he sees this as an opportunity for his company to gain a foothold in the EU with a strategy called “In Europe for Europe,” including local production plans that should become a reality “before 2030.” Until then, vehicles for Europe will come from Changan’s plant in Nanjing. With its own R&D and design centers, the company has had a global presence for some time, for example in Italy and Germany. And last year, in preparation for the current kick-off, the company set up its European headquarters in Munich.

To showcase their trustworthiness, Changan representatives in Mainz played videos of several testimonials that emphasized the quality of the partnership with Changan, including Webasto, Ford, Infineon, Bosch, and Schaeffler. Two decades ago, Changan established joint ventures in China with Ford and Mazda. While those arrangements are still in place today, they are not a model for the company’s European operations which will be managed solely by Changan as it prepares to launch eight new models by 2027.

The first two will be the Deepal S07 — a battery-electric mid-size SUV — and the Deepal S05  — a slightly smaller compact SUV that will be available as either a battery electric or plug-in hybrid version. Three other new models will be introduced in 2026 and again in 2027 and will likely include the larger Changan E07 and two premium electric models, the Avatr 11 and Avatr 12. There is a possibility that one or more may be an EREV — a plug-in hybrid with a larger battery for greater range. EREVs are quite popular in China at the moment.

Like many of its Chinese competitors, Changan sees itself as a pioneer in the field of intelligent and connected electric vehicles that will use a special software driven architecture based on “a central and zonal E/E architecture.” This system is already incorporated into the Deepal S07 in the form of intelligent voice and gesture control and an advanced battery safety system.

In Mainz, Changan announced the Deepal S07 will start at about €45,000. It will be powered by an electric motor rated at 160 kW (215 hp) and 320 Nm of torque. The car will be equipped with an 80 kWh battery that uses NMC cells supplied by CALB. Range in the WLTP testing cycle is expected to be 475 km (295 miles) and acceleration to 100 km/h should take about 8 seconds — good, but not great. There is one less than ideal statistic, however. The car can only accept a maximum of 93 kW of power from a DC fast charger, which means charging times will be longer than normal for other cars in its size category.

The Deepal S07 is 4.75 meters long, 1.93 meters wide, and 1.63 meters high. Its wheelbase is 2.9 meters, which puts it in the midsize class. The Tesla Model Y and the Skoda Enyaq are also in that segment of the market. In terms of price, Changan is positioning the S07 similarly to the price of those other two cars, but its performance and charging performance do not seem to be a match for the Tesla or the Skoda. Changan wants to stand out primarily in terms of design and equipment. With its ‘shark nose design,’ angular air intakes and rear spoiler, the S07 is going for a dynamic look. In addition, the frameless doors and retractable door handles, among other things, are elegant features, Electrive says.

When it comes to equipment, Changan likes to keep things simple. Everything comes standard except for the optional tow bar or larger wheels. Otherwise, the only choices are the interior and exterior colors. That all makes the Deepal S07 a relatively well equipped contender with standard features such as a panoramic roof, a central 15.6-inch touchscreen, an augmented reality head-up display or a 360-degree camera, a suite of automatic driver assistance features, dual zone climate control, and electronically adjustable seats. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also supported. Users have between 570 and 1,510 liters of cargo space, a large 125 liter frunk, and various storage compartments in the interior. The towing capacity is 1.5 tons.

At the introductory event in Mainz Leevon Tian, the European deputy managing director for Changan, emphasized the aesthetics and intelligent technologies of the S07. The Deepal brand is intended to represent driving pleasure and modern mobility, and to “inspire young people and those young at heart.” The Changan brand itself is aimed more at customers with families, while Avatr is designed to be a premium brand with higher price points that the other two.

The Changan E07 features 800 volt architecture, a range of 520 km and more DC charging power. It is a rather long vehicle with strong visual accents and an enclosed pickup truck motif at the rear. Details about the Avatr electric vehicles have not been made public yet, other than a claim of 730 km (453 miles) of range in the Chinese test cycle.