The automotive giant Changan Automobile has decided that maintaining two completely independent electric vehicle brands in today's realities is too costly a pleasure. The chairman of the group, Zhu Huarong, announced the strategic integration of Avatr and Deepal brands. This decision became part of the global strategy “1445,” which is set to transform Changan into a world leader in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market.
By the end of 2026, the company plans to fully unify internal processes — from research and development (R&D) to supply chains and production lines. Changan is implementing the “independent front-end, shared back-end” model. Simply put: design, marketing, and showrooms will remain different, but the “hardware” under the hood and the software code will be as unified as possible.
Billions saved and ambitious plans
According to the group's analysts, this approach will allow reducing resource costs by 20-30%. In a world where the price war in China squeezes the manufacturers, this is critically important for survival. At the same time, Zhu Huarong emphasized the “three invariants”: the overall strategy of the group, brand positioning, and the rights of existing owners will remain untouched. Deepal will continue to attack the mass market segment, while Avatr will defend its position in the luxury niche.
By 2030, Changan plans to sell 1.5 million vehicles of these two brands annually. The distribution of forces looks like this:
- Deepal: targeting the price range of 150,000 to 300,000 yuan — $20,730 to $41,460. The goal is 1 million sales per year.
- Avatr: the premium segment from 250,000 to 700,000 yuan — $34,550 to $96,740. The goal is 500,000 units annually.
Different destinies: why Avatr needs help
Statistics for the first quarter of 2026 show why the reorganization was necessary right now. While Deepal is showing growth (53,601 vehicles delivered, +5.2% compared to last year), Avatr’s affairs are not going as well. Sales of the brand fell by 41.6% — to 11,703 units compared to 20,041 last year. The merging of capabilities is expected to stabilize the financial situation of the luxury division through the production scale of the mass Deepal.
Despite internal perturbations, expansion is ongoing. Deepal recently entered the UK market with the S05 crossover, which has a range of 488 kilometers (WLTP). At the same time, Avatr is trying to impress power enthusiasts by opening orders for the Avatr 06T wagon. This monster produces 955 horsepower and costs from 230,100 yuan — $31,800.
Overall, the “1445” strategy envisages reaching a level of 5 million vehicles sold per year by 2030. More than 60% of the volume should be made up of precisely electrified models. Given that in 2025, Changan sold 2.91 million cars (of which 1.11 million were NEV), the plans look ambitious.
