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Changan Automobile builds and sells cars, engines, and auto parts, mostly in China.
Changan Automobile is one of China's big homegrown carmakers. It builds and sells passenger cars — sedans, SUVs, and hatchbacks — along with the engines and parts that go into them. Most of its customers are ordinary Chinese families buying their first or second car, plus a large fleet of commercial buyers who need vans and small trucks.
The company runs on a two-engine model. One engine is its own brands, sold under names like Changan and Oshan, aimed at value-conscious buyers. The other is a joint-venture business: Changan partners with foreign automakers — most importantly Ford and Mazda — to build and sell their cars in China. For years those joint ventures were the profit machine, because Chinese buyers paid up for foreign badges. Changan's own brands were the volume play. That picture has flipped. China's car market is now the world's most brutal price war, especially in electric vehicles. Changan has poured money into its own EV and plug-in hybrid lineups — the Deepal and Nevo brands — to keep up with BYD and Tesla. It also sells the Avatr luxury EV brand with partners including Huawei. The company earns money by selling metal at a thin margin and hoping volume and scale cover the costs, which is why the joint-venture profits matter so much.
Changan is headquartered in Chongqing, the giant industrial city in southwest China, where it started life making artillery and munitions before pivoting to vehicles. Today it is a state-linked company with global ambitions, exporting cars to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The bet is simple: if Changan can sell enough EVs and exports before the price war eats everyone's margins, it stays a giant. If not, the Chinese car shakeout will be unkind.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026