- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru Ar Fr He
Changan. Second major brand in China
Changan was founded in 1862 as a small machine-building factory. In 1949, the company became the property of the state. In 1958, it began the production of compact military off-road vehicles. The production of passenger transport was launched in 1984. In 2016, the combined production and sales volumes amounted to more than 3 million units per year, of which 1.4 million vehicles were sold in China. It is the second most popular brand in China. As of June 2018, 17 million vehicles have already been sold, with more than 8,500 buyers purchasing Changan products every day in different countries.
The brand name has its own meaning. In Chinese, "chang" means “long-term”, and "an" means “safety”, so "Changan" can be translated as "Time-tested safety”.
In addition to its own production, Changan has joint ventures with such international brands as Mazda, Ford, Suzuki, and PSA. The company is one of the Chinese ‘Big Four’ automakers along with SAIC Motor, FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation.
What products does Changan produce? The company manufactures and markets vehicles under its own brand, as well as Oshan and Kaicene, as well as joint venture products. In addition to passenger cars, it builds vans, commercial vans and light trucks. The company takes production very seriously. It has 180 laboratories that are operating in six countries. Plus, it has its own crash test center, the largest test site in Asia, with more than 70 different types of coatings. The brand owns 35 factories for the production of cars and engines. In 2016, the manufacturer arranged the first test drive of unmanned vehicles with a distance of 1,800 km from Chongqing to Beijing. And in 2018, 55 unmanned vehicles were tested. In July 2019, the company presented the L4 unmanned driving technology.
Models
In 2022, the Changan model range comprises predominantly SUVs, starting from the subcompact Changan CS15 to the full-sized Changan CS95. The compact segment is represented by the CS35 Plus and CS55 Plus models, while the Changan CS75 is a mid-size model. All of these models have an attractive, Italian-inspired design. They are quite recognizable, but still have some elements borrowed from other models. These vehicles offer a limited choice of engines and gearboxes. The models are front-wheel drive, whereas all-wheel drive versions are only available for large SUVs, starting with the CS75.
The Oshan brand also offers mainly SUVs. This is a luxury division that uses Changan machines for its models. The Kaicene sub-brand creates pickups, trucks and vans. None of these brands is represented in Israel, but this is probably only a matter of time: Changan has been selling its models abroad and building factories for more than a year.
