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ChangAn |
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| Country |
China |
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| Parent |
Independent |
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| Subsidiaries |
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| Brands |
ChangAn, Chana |
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| Location | Headquarters and R&D
center: Chongqing Main assembly plants: Chongqing, Nanjing  |
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| Sales figures |
Group sales: 2008: 861,377 units 2007: 857,700 units |
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| Introduction | ChangAn is a mid-size manufacturer. Like most other car makers in China, it started producing civilian cars through forming joint-ventures with foreign car makers, firstly Suzuki, then Ford and Mazda. It also acquired Jiangling Motors, a commercial vehicle and SUV maker in China. In recent years, it started producing its own designs with the help of Western engineering consultants. ChangAn is yet to build a state-of-the-art R&D facility. | |||
| Brief History |
According to ChangAn, its history can be traced back to an
arsenal founded in 1862, when China was still in Qing Dynasty. Through
the years, ChangAn had been a military-owned enterprize producing
machine tools and military goods. However, when China started economic
reform in the late 1970s, it could no longer rely on government subsidy
for survival. In the mid-1980s, it introduced Suzuki's minivans and
trucks for production locally. This relationship was upgraded to a
joint-venture, ChangAn Suzuki, in 1993, which introduced Suzuki Alto. 8
years later, it formed another joint-venture with Ford group to produce
Ford, Volvo and Mazda models. By the mid-2000s, its annual production
exceeded 600,000 units a year, placing it in the top 5 of Chinese car
makers. Z-Shine (2008)In the late 2000s, ChangAn started employing European engineering consultants to develop its own cars, such as Benni (minicar), Alsvin (B-segment), CV8 / Z-shine (C-segment) and Joice (MPV). The next stage would be to build its own R&D capability. |