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Old 18th November 2019, 05:06   #1
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Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Changan, which has got the nod from RBI and formed liaison company will have two different firms – one each for manufacturing and distribution.

Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75-changan-motors-india-entry-suv.png
Changan plans to enter Indian market with two SUVs including CS75.

New Delhi: After SAIC and Great Wall Motor, it’s the turn of Chinese auto major Changan Automobile to get its India plans ready.

High-level delegates from China government-owned SUV maker have been regularly visiting India for the last few months and have finalized several decisions pertaining to its India entry, three sources aware of the matter told ET.

The recent debut by China’s SAIC and South Korea's Kia Motors have encouraged the Chinese SUV maker to fast track its India debut.

According to the first person, the company has indicated to the local state governments its intention to invest about Rs 4,000 crore (about $550 million) in India in a phased manner.

  • The Chinese government-owned SUV maker has already formed a liaison firm by the name of Changan International Corporation. The company has taken a space in Gurugram for office which will be operational soon, another person in the know informed.
  • According to the second source, Changan appointed industry veteran Sanjay G as India expert to expedite the process here two weeks ago. Sanjay brings along over 15 years of experience in automobile space spanning across Honda Siel Cars, Toyota Kirloskar, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai and Nissan Motor.
  • The SUVs and electric vehicles maker from China has also signed an MoU with Group Landmark, a company with interests in automobile dealerships and insurance.
  • The latter company will be a JV with Group Landmark, which already have one of biggest dealership network of brands like Mercedes Benz, Nissan, FCA.
  • According to a third person aware of the development, the Chinese carmaker is in advance stages of discussion with Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to set up greenfield operations.
  • According to one of the sources, the company is looking to start Indian operation with first product launch by the end of 2022. It plans to start with two-SUVs including CS75 and one more SUV in the Creta segment.
  • Changan had done the first feasibility study for India two-years ago.
  • The company which has recently set up its operations in Pakistan is looking at making India its export hub for right- hand drive markets.
Source: ET Auto

Last edited by wheelguy : 18th November 2019 at 05:27.
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Old 18th November 2019, 13:16   #2
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re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

My my the Chinese are coming thick and fast. The tremendous initial success seen by MG is really making chinese heads turn in India's direction.

And its no surprise that they are launching two SUVs to start with as that is where all the action is happening as of now. Its going to be an interesting decade starting next year for the Indian automobile fans and manufacturers alike. I think its going to be a three way battle for supremacy between India-Korea-China fought right here on our soil. Let the war begin.
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Old 18th November 2019, 17:47   #3
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Everybody's attacking the Creta right now! By the way, doesn't Changan have a share in Ford's Chinese operations? From what I've heard, they've done well.
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Old 18th November 2019, 20:15   #4
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I was just reading on another forum on 5th gen Honda city spotted testing - in 1990's and early 2000's it was the Japanese manufacturer - Suzuki, Honda, Toyota; then from mid-2000 till current date it has to be the Koreans with Hyundai as leader and Kia as late entrant and now it seems the Chinese manufacturers time has come. Given, the deep pockets most of these manufacturers have, it will be interesting to see how they tackle the established players. I am thinking on the smartphone market kind of carpet bombing the market with models
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Old 19th November 2019, 09:01   #5
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Its sad to see some of the more legendary brands either leave the country or on the verge of quitting while more of these manufacturers with virtually no brand recall make their way into the country. I personally will stick with the more established brands.
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Old 19th November 2019, 12:54   #6
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Apparently CHANG means lasting and AN means safety. CHANGAN = 'Lasting Safety' which usually does not relate to Chinese vehicles. Having said that I did watch crash test videos of few of their vehicles and they look promising.

Look through their product line and you will get the sense of 'copied design' from established players!!
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Old 21st November 2019, 19:04   #7
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

India-Bound Changan Brand To Launch Re-badged Suzuki Cars In China.

Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75-1.png


Quote:
Despite exiting China, Suzuki continued its joint venture with Changan Automobile, which is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese brand. According to Chinese media reports, Changan will continue to invest in Changan Suzuki while the Japanese partner will provide production license. Changan Suzuki will stay put manufacturing and selling Suzuki branded cars while providing after-sales support and services to the customers. A new patent image of the forthcoming SUV has emerged on the internet and it looks identical to the Vitara mid-size SUV sold in the international markets except for the frontal changes akin to Changan’s design.
Products like the upcoming rebadged Vitara that looks similar to the front fascia of the CS55 under the Changan Suzuki badge for China could be considered as an option for the local market, but there is no confirmation yet on this.

Link
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Old 22nd November 2019, 11:39   #8
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

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Originally Posted by volkman10 View Post
India-Bound Changan Brand To Launch Re-badged Suzuki Cars In China.

Products like the upcoming rebadged Vitara that looks similar to the front fascia of the CS55 under the Changan Suzuki badge for China could be considered as an option for the local market, but there is no confirmation yet on this.
Interesting indeed!
I don't think Indian market will accept the other Chinese brands in cars that easily. MG was an exception IMO thanks to at least its adopted heritage. Had it been named anything else, I don't think the Hector would have been such a hit in the masses, no matter how well engineered it is (and it sure is!).

So - banking on a well accepted Suzuki brand's products would always be good for initial confidence building in the people's minds.

But then - why will people buy a Chinese branded Suzuki rather than a Japanese branded Suzuki itself with added blessings of a god's name! The Glanza sells because Toyota brings in its value & brand confidence. I don't think the equation will work the same way for Changan brand...
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Old 22nd November 2019, 13:35   #9
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

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Originally Posted by Reinhard View Post
Interesting indeed!
I don't think Indian market will accept the other Chinese brands in cars that easily. MG was an exception IMO thanks to at least its adopted heritage. Had it been named anything else, I don't think the Hector would have been such a hit in the masses, no matter how well engineered it is (and it sure is!).
+1

MG Hector is truly an exception. People, even today believe MG is a British brand! But if Indians ever treat cars like feature phones, then we're in for some dark times! The only saving grace in terms of phones are that most brands have processors etc from trusted brands, which increases consumer confidence. But we don't know if these Chinese brands will be using some popular engine like MJD or their in-house product.- which is a complete unknown.
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Old 22nd November 2019, 15:48   #10
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Why all this hate for the Chinese? Isn't our market flooded with cheap, unsafe, tin cans from Suzuki? Haven't we all accepted with open arms, even those junks from Suzuki which would probably be banned in western countries? Or is it that Suzuki in India has a 'Maruti' attached to it and we have to show our patriotism by buying it? Let them launch their products. Its they are good and priced well, let them succeed. Simply piling hate on a product just because of its origin country is pure bull.
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Old 25th November 2019, 10:29   #11
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

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Originally Posted by GeneralJazz View Post
Why all this hate for the Chinese? Isn't our market flooded with cheap, unsafe, tin cans from Suzuki? Haven't we all accepted with open arms, even those junks from Suzuki which would probably be banned in western countries? Or is it that Suzuki in India has a 'Maruti' attached to it and we have to show our patriotism by buying it? Let them launch their products. Its they are good and priced well, let them succeed. Simply piling hate on a product just because of its origin country is pure bull.
I think the dislike (I'd not call it hate, its a much stronger word!) for Chinese products roots from our (country's) complicated relationship with China, the bitter border issue & the well advertised all-weather friendship between China & Pakistan (Or our neighbour country as some say!).

Indo-Japanese relationship has always been very friendly in comparison. That plays a part. I'll not get into safety/cheapness etc. But - Suzuki has bulletproof reliability. Considering the huge number of Suzuki cars on our roads, the number of stranded folks with mechanical failures are remarkably low & that says a lot considering most our cars actually not maintained well due to budget constraints.

Chinese are new. Since last 2 decades we have grown to not assume long lasting reliability of Chinese goods. Why - because we only use their CHEAP products to save money & those die earlier. Its mainly the perception built around Chinese goods. We don't buy costlier high quality Chinese goods since then there is no price advantage in comparison with our trusted brands.

Is this perception wrong? Yes! The Chinese do make state of the art equipment and very few know manufacturing practices like them now!

Is this perception right? Yes again! The Chinese car makers are entering India with a known stereotype. They'll have to prove us wrong statistically by delivering really robust & reliable products. Its fine for the people to not consider their cars as reliable just yet. Afterall - Barring MSIL & Hyundai, we Indians still consider absolutely ALL over car-makers unreliable, even those making cars since 25 years.

Last edited by Reinhard : 25th November 2019 at 10:30.
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Old 25th November 2019, 13:36   #12
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

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Originally Posted by GeneralJazz View Post
Why all this hate for the Chinese? Isn't our market flooded with cheap, unsafe, tin cans from Suzuki? Haven't we all accepted with open arms, even those junks from Suzuki which would probably be banned in western countries? Or is it that Suzuki in India has a 'Maruti' attached to it and we have to show our patriotism by buying it?
True to some extent. The Japs were the first in the indian market and the way they understood it, they made reliability a bigger priority than safety. I am not going to the question whether it is correct. After all it was the Japs (read suzuki) which put india on wheels. It was at that time a win-win situation for both. Now MSIL is bigger than their parent company and that is because they made india their focus. Barring the Koreans ( read Hyundai ), none saw india as a pivot market and gave us a step motherly treatment. This goes for cry babies from the US and Europe who were unwilling to re design their products for india.

I'm a bit uneasy about the Chinese, As member @Reinhard has pointed out, they do make a whole range of quality products but seem to dump their cheep tricks on us. Further, their work ethics don't compare well with the Japs or Germans. It looks to me that the Chinese would do anything to maintain their dominance and relevance in the world order. In spite of their big economy, the chinese seem to have achieved very minimal in terms of VFM companies. Show me a company like say , Microsoft, Siemens , Philips etc who are established for their uncompromising quality policies. That said, there is an entire thread on how facebook is a surveillance engine. So we can choose our picks among the devils.

Last edited by srini1785 : 25th November 2019 at 14:00.
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Old 26th January 2020, 09:14   #13
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

Changan to enter India with an MG Hector rival - Report.

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Post the success of MG, various Chinese automakers are planning to expand their businesses in India, among the primary ones of which is Changan Auto. If reports are to believed, the company is preparing to enter India with an SUV that will rival the likes of MG Hector and Tata Harrier.

Changan Auto is China’s second-most popular automaker and has joint ventures with Ford, Mazda, Peugeot and Suzuki for the production of models of these respective brands. It is one of the oldest brands of China with almost 158 years of legacy, with headquarters based in Chongqing.

Changan Auto has a versatile lineup which includes sedans, SUVs, MPVs, commercial vans and electric and hybrid vehicles. The company is committed to the future of electric vehicles, so much that it has officially confirmed that it will cease production of gasoline and diesel vehicles in China by 2025 and will produce only electric vehicles from then on.

Getting to the Indian context, given the huge popularity of SUVs, Changan Auto will focus on SUVs initially. In its lineup, the most viable option is the CS75 Plus SUV that debuted at Auto China 2019. In China, this model can be purchased with a 1.5L TGDI Blue Whale TGDI petrol engine coupled to a 6-speed MT or an Asin-made 6-speed AT, or a 2.0L Blue Whale TGDI petrol engine linked to an Aisin-sourced 8-speed AT. The smaller engine produces 131 kW (178.11 PS) and 265 Nm of torque, while the bigger engine develops 171 kW (232.50 PS) and 360 Nm of torque.

The Changan CS75 Plus measures 4,670 mm/4,690 mm/4,700 mm in length, 1,865 mm in width and 1,700 mm/1,710 mm. It has a 2,710 mm wheelbase.

Changan Auto has set up an office in New Delhi for the time being for studying various possibilities, including the decision about setting up a local manufacturing facility. If all things go well, it will initiate its Indian innings in 2022-23.

Last edited by wheelguy : 26th January 2020 at 09:24.
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Old 26th January 2020, 09:47   #14
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

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Originally Posted by GeneralJazz View Post
Isn't our market flooded with cheap, unsafe, tin cans from Suzuki?
Care to explain why you have excluded Hyundai, Renault, Tata , M&M etc when their models like Santro, Kwid, Scorpio and Nano also performed poorly in crash tests? None are saints here.

Quote:
...those junks from Suzuki which would probably be banned in western countries?
Suzuki to be banned from western countries because of their build? Your source of this info please.

Last edited by romeomidhun : 26th January 2020 at 09:50.
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Old 26th January 2020, 10:23   #15
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Re: Changan Automobile to enter Indian market with two SUVs, including the CS75

When effective tax rates are as high as in India, the OEM has to manage total cost (along with their margins) to allow a customer to be able to afford the product. We cannot compare products in India with Western world with narrow vision. If customers can afford safety, fancy features, etc, OEMs can easily offer it as they already have the capability. Maruti is customer centric and satisfies the market. If they behave any differently, they would become a niche player.

The market below 10 lakhs are mostly people who expect low running cost (fuel and spares), easy access to service, good resale value, etc. If the Chinese or any OEM decide to compete against the Alto, they have to follow the rules of market. They cannot make the structure robust and charge a hefty premium for it as the market would not consider it as a mass market offering
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