Changan's big push overseas

Forced to look abroad, the Chongqing automaker is hoping its latest sedan sells well

Amid the dazzling cars and models at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 2011, the Changan Sense concept sports car caught attention for its sleek, curvy lines, aggressive body frame and its affordable price tag.

At the show, the buzz question was "What is Changan doing with this?" Few companies in China can match Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd, one of the largest domestic auto manufacturers, in terms of affordability, but it had yet to crack the overseas markets despite aspirations to become a mid to high-end maker of cars.

This month, Changan is coming out with its response in the form of the Raeton, a mid-end, four-door sedan that will sell for 180,000 yuan ($28,926) in the United States and Europe to compete against other large family cars such as the Volkswagen Passat.

"Till now, most of our vehicles were sold in low-end markets across the world. The Sense and the Raeton represent our ambitions and attempts to move into the high-end market," says Zhu Huarong, vice-president of Changan who is in charge of the company's overseas business.

"Moving to the high-end world" is what many of China's automakers call looking abroad, where it has an easier chance of selling its cars because of rising competition in their home market, the largest in the world. The nation's auto market is slowing, however, with domestic passenger car sales rising less than 7 percent last year.

Jia Xinguang, an independent auto analyst in Beijing, says due to overcapacity in China's automobile industry and decreasing demand, automakers are being forced to look overseas.

"The competition in China's automobile industry is kind of a global war, and grabbing market share from overseas regions is necessary for domestic automakers," Jia says.

To gain a foothold in overseas markets, Changan is preparing for big things, such as introducing its Raeton model.

"Changan aims to be the best automobile company in the world. So far, our major overseas markets are Africa and Southeast Asia. To become a global automobile giant, it is important for us to expand our presence in developed nations and make mid and high-end vehicles," says Zhu from Changan's headquarters in Chongqing municipality's Jiangbei district.

He says the company expects its overseas markets to contribute about 30 percent of revenue by 2020. Changan expects to capture 5 percent of its overseas revenue from the US and Europe by 2017 with mostly mid to high-end vehicles. Last year, Changan's revenue reached 114 billion yuan, with overseas markets contributing about 5 percent of revenue, and made a profit of 1.6 billion yuan.