On June 26, Changan Kaicheng V919 was officially launched in Chongqing, and Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, personally stood on the platform and gave this new car a far superiorityNew cars are launchedMeaning.This coincides with an important node in the history of Changan Automobile’s development – on June 5, Changan Automobile officially approved by the State Council that the automobile business of Armament Group will be divested and reorganized into an independent central enterprise, marking that Changan has started a new journey as a “new central enterprise”.
New energyStrategic ambiguity leads to the advantage of difficult to renew fuel vehicles
As an “old giant” in China’s automobile industry, Changan Automobile has a deep foundation in the field of fuel vehicles. According to tram resource statistics, in May 2025, in the field of logistics vehicles, Changan (including Changan Leap and Changan Kaicheng) sold 4,732 new energy products and 18,612 traditional energy products. The data is considerable, but in the face of the impact of the new energy wave, Changan’s pace is significantly behind its main competitors.
Compared with Wuling’s rapid establishment of market advantages with new platform products such as Wuling Yangguang, and the rapid and comprehensive electrification layout of traditional powerhouses such as Beiqi Foton’s product matrix of new energy logistics vehicles, Changan is passive and lagging behind in the field of new energy logistics vehicles.The ambiguity and slowness of the strategic positioning of new energy have led to Changan’s huge fuel vehicle user base and technology accumulation failing to be effectively transformed into a leading force in the new energy era, and facing the risk of being accelerated and overtaken.
There are competitive limitations in “oil-to-electricity” derivative models
Changan’s new energy logistics vehicles have long relied on “oil-to-electricity” derivative models, which has seriously restricted the improvement of product competitiveness although this strategy has reduced R&D costs in the short term.Although its Ruixing EM series, as a representative product of the positive research and development of pure electric platforms, has achieved certain market breakthroughs in the micro and medium markets with its native electric architecture. However, the problem is that the long-term dependence on the “oil-to-electricity” path, as well as the launch speed and breadth of a new generation of pure electric platform products facing the future competitive landscape, lag behind leading competitors.
In contrast, the impact of emerging forces such as remote range, traditional fuel companies such as Wuling and Beiqi Foton have laid out native new energy platforms earlier, such as Wuling’s pure electric architecture to support modular design, and Beiqi Foton’s “Aiyike” platform, which integrates energy, digital intelligence, maintenance distribution, second-hand cars and other businesses to build a full life cycle service system.
As competing products continue to expand their advantages relying on the native platform, the competitive shortcomings of Changan will become more and more obvious. If the research and development of a new generation of pure electric platform products is not accelerated, it will not only be difficult to catch up with the leader, but may also be widened in the industrial reshuffle. In the face of backwardness, Changan urgently needs to achieve breakthroughs in pure electric platform technology and products and accelerate the pursuit.
It is necessary to break through upwards to deal with the trend of “large quantity”
According to tram resource statistics, from January to May 2025, the sales volume of new energy noodles will be 42,077 units, a year-on-year increase of 58.2%, becoming the fastest growing model among new energy products. According to the market trend, new energy logistics vehicles are developing towards the trend of large volume, large load and large power.
However, taking Changan Kaicheng as an example, according to tram resource statistics, the cumulative sales of Changan Kaicheng new energy logistics vehicles from January to May 2025 will be 14,041 units, an increase of 115.1% year-on-year. In its sales structure, the sales of noodle vehicles account for about 95% of Changan Kaicheng’s overall logistics vehicle sales.Specifically, the cumulative sales of noodle cars from January to May 2025 will be 13,473 units, a year-on-year increase of 126.7%. Micro and medium surfaces occupy almost all the face systems.
Changan Kaicheng’s current main sales models are concentrated in the micro and medium fields.The cargo space of these main models is generally relatively small, such as the hot-selling model Ruixing EM80, which has a cargo box volume of 3.5-6.0 cubic meters. This is in contrast to the large-sided models that are currently the fastest growing on the market.At present, the hot-selling “large-faced” main sales model, the top-1 Richi EC75 with large-face sales, will sell 10,647 units from January to May 2025, with a cargo box space of 7.14 cubic meters; SAIC Maxus Dana V1 will sell 4,905 units from January to May 2025, with a cargo box space of 8.2 cubic meters.
Therefore, it is difficult to support Changan’s sustained growth in the future demand for small and micro noodles with limited container space. Changan must break the existing pattern, launch an impact on higher value-added and larger-scale mid-to-high-end market segments, and achieve an “upward breakthrough” in the product structure in order to avoid marginalization in the mainstream track.
Changan Kaicheng V919: A milestone in strategic transformation
Tram resources believe that the strategic significance of Changan Kaicheng V919 is far greater than the significance of launching a new car to supplement the vacancies of large quantities of products.
The timing of choosing to launch Changan Kaicheng V919 at this time is very meaningful.
On the one hand, Changan Automobile has just completed its identity leap and was reorganized into an independent central enterprise with the approval of the State Council. This identity of “new central enterprise” not only brings higher strategic positioning and policy resource support, but also means that it shoulders a heavier leading responsibility in the national “dual carbon” strategy and industrial upgrading.The upgrade of the identity of central enterprises provides a more solid backing and broader development space for the implementation of Changan Kaicheng’s new energy strategy.
On the other handChairman Zhu Huarong rarely stood on the platform for this “van”, clearly conveying to the market the firm confidence and full support of Changan’s top management for the strategic transformation of Kaicheng brand, and announcing that new energy logistics vehicles, especially the large market with technological breakthroughs and huge potential anchored by V919, have become the core battlefield of Changan’s overall strategy.
epilogue
Zhu Ronghua’s platform is an endorsement of this “van”, and also shows that the field of new energy logistics vehicles, especially the key market with technological breakthroughs and huge market potential, has become the core position of Changan’s overall strategy.The launch of Changan Kaicheng V919 is a key step for Changan to break the predicament in the field of new energy logistics vehicles. Empowered by the identity of a “new central enterprise” and relying on the strategic determination of the top management, whether it can open up the situation in the large volume market with this car, and whether it can use the V919 as a new starting point to accelerate the process of new energy, accelerate the catch-up with competitors, and build new competitive barriers, remains to be tested by the market.