340 Billion! Chongqing Has Produced Its 100th Central State-Owned Enterprise

China's 100th central enterprise is established in Chongqing.

On July 29, China Changan Automobile Group Co., Ltd. was officially established. This new centrally-administered automobile enterprise, headquartered in Chongqing, achieved a "lightning-fast" launch in just 55 days. On June 4, 2025, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. received a notice from China South Industries Group Corporation that, with approval from the State Council, the group would be split.

Its automotive business will be separated into an independent central enterprise, with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) acting as the capital contributor. The SASAC will, according to procedures, inject the equity of the separated China South Industries Group Corporation into China North Industries Group Corporation Limited.

55 days later, the automotive group China Changan Automobile Group Co., Ltd., founded by Changan Automobile, ChenZhi Group, Financial Company, Changan Automobile Finance, and other companies, was officially established with a registered capital of 20 billion yuan. It owns 117 subsidiaries, including 5 listed companies, with total assets amounting to 308.7 billion yuan. Its business scope covers complete vehicles and auto parts, automobile sales, financial and logistics services, motorcycle business, and more. The group employs 110,000 people and has an annual operating revenue of 340 billion yuan.

In the landscape of China’s automotive industry in 2025, a giant enterprise stands out prominently, marking the advent of a new development stage for the industry. Changan Automobile’s impressive revenue of 340 billion yuan is equivalent to 3.2% of the total scale of China’s automotive industry in 2024. The emergence of such a “giant” enterprise signifies the transformation of leading local companies into national strategic platforms, highlighting the country’s firm determination in resource integration and strategic upgrading within the automotive sector.

From Industry Deepening to Strategic LeapHow can the identity of a central enterprise efficiently empower China Changan Automobile?

In order to thoroughly implement the important directive of national leaders that "we must develop our own national automobile brands," further promote the optimization and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy, and accelerate the building of a strong automobile nation, China Changan Automobile Group was established in response to these needs.

The core of Changan Automobile's 55-day rapid restructuring is to incorporate high-quality assets such as Chongqing Changan into a national-level capital operation platform. By empowering it with the status of a central state-owned enterprise, the decades of accumulated industrial strength will gain institutional support and expanded resources.

It is certain that China Changan Automobile has now become the core carrier of the goal to build a "strong automobile nation," and its status as a central enterprise enables it to receive far more policy support than local state-owned enterprises.

On July 30th, at the media communication meeting of Changan Automobile in China, Chairman Zhu Huarong expressed his sentiments, saying that the group has just been established, yet many large enterprise groups have proactively proposed strategic cooperation, hoping to integrate resources, achieve collaborative development, improve efficiency, and jointly expand the global market. "In the past, Changan Automobile’s resources were relatively scarce. Now, as a new group, it possesses abundant resources that are inexhaustible and can be used without limitation, with broad development space and ample opportunities."

In terms of new energy technology research and development, China Changan Automobile can receive preferential access to national special resources, gaining strong support in overcoming core challenges such as battery technology bottlenecks and key intelligent network technologies, thereby accelerating the iterative upgrading of new energy vehicle technology.

In expanding into overseas markets, diplomatic resources also assist China Changan Automobile in working collaboratively, providing strong support for its brand promotion and market access in international markets, thereby breaking down many barriers in overseas markets.

This "national endorsement + market mechanism" dual-driven model provides China Changan Automobile with a unique "institutional advantage" in the fierce competition with global automotive giants like Tesla and Volkswagen, offering a solid backing for its participation in global competition.

As the only central state-owned automobile enterprise headquartered in the West, China Changan Automobile's support for Chongqing's "33618" manufacturing cluster is invaluable, with significance far beyond a simple addition of production capacity.

By integrating abundant industrial chain resources such as Changan Automobile and Chen Zhi Group, Chongqing is expected to establish a comprehensive automotive ecosystem with a complete closed loop, covering everything from vehicle research and development, parts manufacturing, and financial services to the automotive aftermarket.

From the perspective of EO Automotive, this is not only a substantial implementation of the "automotive industry integration" strategy for the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, but also equips the western automotive industry with a "national team" chip that can compete with the coastal automotive industry clusters. It enhances the status and influence of the western automotive industry within the national and even global automotive industry landscape, promoting a more balanced regional development of China's automotive industry.

When China Chang'an Automobile was established, it announced its mission, vision, and goals.

Chang'an Automobile's mission is to "lead automotive civilization and benefit human life," with a vision to build a world-class automobile brand. By 2030, the company aims to achieve a production and sales volume of 5 million vehicles, with new energy vehicle sales accounting for over 60% and overseas sales accounting for over 30%, striving to rank among the top ten global automobile brands.

Among them, Changan Automobile's "2030 Strategy" demonstrates its grand ambition and strong confidence.

The production and sales target of 5 million vehicles is nearly equivalent to the scale of the world's seventh-largest automotive group in 2024, indicating that it will hold a significant position in the global automotive market.

A 60% share of new energy vehicles demonstrates its firm commitment to the wave of new energy vehicle development, aligning with the global automotive industry's trend toward electrification.

The target of achieving 30% of sales overseas demonstrates its determination to actively expand into international markets and participate in global competition.

To achieve this goal, Zhu Huarong stated that over the next decade, the group will firmly invest 200 billion yuan in the new automotive sector and add a technology innovation team of 10,000 people to drive technological exploration and product realization.

According to data from the first half of 2025, China Changan Automobile Group has achieved vehicle sales of 1.355 million units, including 451,000 new energy vehicles, representing a year-on-year increase of 49%. According to the plan, total vehicle sales for the whole year of 2025 are expected to reach 3 million units, including 1 million new energy vehicles, laying a solid foundation for achieving subsequent targets.

"Breakdown of the 'Five New'"

How can the central enterprise gene activate the new ecosystem of the automotive industry?

As a new centrally-administered enterprise headquartered in Chongqing, China Changan Automobile aims to integrate the institutional advantages of a central enterprise with the innovative vitality of market-oriented operations by centering on its “Five New” strategy—new mission, new strategy, new vehicles, new ecosystem, and new services. Through this core framework, Changan Automobile is building a unique new ecosystem for the automotive industry.

Regarding the promotion of the new energy "Shangri-La" plan, the intelligent "Beidou Tianshu" plan, and the globalization "Haina Baichuan" plan, China Changan Automobile regards them as a "new strategy" and has become increasingly determined.

The status of being a central state-owned enterprise will also provide China Changan Automobile with stronger momentum in implementing the three major plans.

In the formulation of intelligent connected vehicle standards, China Changan Automobile is able to deeply participate in the national top-level design, integrating its own technological advantages with industry development needs to promote the establishment of an intelligent connected vehicle standard system that aligns with China's national conditions and possesses international competitiveness.

The "Shangri-La Project" focuses on the transition to new energy, and has established a full industry chain of technology reserves from batteries, motors to electronic controls. The solid-state battery technology jointly developed with CATL is expected to achieve mass production in 2026.

The "Beidou Tianshu Project" focuses on core technologies such as chassis and intelligent cabins, continuously building the Tianshu intelligent technology brand that is safe, smart, and agile.

The "Hai Na Bai Chuan Plan" adheres to long-term, localized, systematic, and socialized (ESG) approaches, accelerating the expansion into overseas markets. Anchored in the "152" strategic framework, it establishes the Chinese market as a solid base and focuses on breakthroughs in the five major overseas regional markets: Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Eurasia. It implements a precise "one region, one policy" strategy tailored to the policy environment, consumer characteristics, and industrial foundation of each region.

Through this model of global resource integration, Changan Automobile of China is gradually building an innovative consortium with "vehicle manufacturers at its core, technology companies providing strong empowerment, and parts suppliers working in collaboration," thereby achieving global optimization of technology, production capacity, and market allocation.

This collaborative capability of "industry + policy + market" can maximize the leading role of Changan Automobile, as a "national team" in China's automotive industry.

Zhu Huarong stated that future "new cars" will be "evolvable intelligent car robots," which provides a new development approach for the product positioning of China's Changan Automobile.

EO Auto believes that this unique positioning is not simply following the trend, but rather, by relying on a large industrial workforce of 110,000 people and a research and development team of nearly 20,000, it is possible to achieve differentiated competition and break through in the market.

Zhu Huarong revealed that in the next five years, China Changan Automobile will launch over 50 new energy products globally, including more than seven global blockbuster products each with sales exceeding 300,000 units. The company aims to build a comprehensive new energy brand matrix, continuously developing the Avatr, Shenlan, and Changan brands to enhance brand awareness and reputation.

China's Changan Automobile will make every effort to develop intelligent car robots, flying cars, and embodied intelligence as new types of productivity.

In the process of building a "new ecosystem" for automobiles, China Changan Automobile has skillfully maintained a balance between "openness and control," forming a deep integration model between complete vehicles and components, as well as between different components, further enhancing the resilience and security level of the industrial and supply chains.

In the horizontal expansion dimension of the technology ecosystem, China Changan Automobile is accelerating its penetration into cutting-edge fields such as autonomous driving commercial operations, flying cars, humanoid robots, and pan-mobility services, using the SDA platform as its technical foundation to build a cross-scenario industrial innovation matrix.

At the level of global cooperation, China Changan Automobile adheres to both independent research and development and open collaboration. It not only deepens strategic synergy with global automakers such as Stellantis, Ford, and Mazda but also actively partners with cross-industry companies in ICT and consumer electronics to build an ecosystem together.

It is worth mentioning that when Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of the Board of Haier Group, visited Changan Automobile in China for discussions, the two parties quickly reached a consensus on cooperation in multiple fields. Not only did they sign a strategic cooperation agreement, but they have also entered the stage of substantive advancement, becoming a typical example of cross-industry ecological integration.

At the same time, "new services" will become the key touchpoint for the implementation of Changan Automobile's ecosystem in China. On the ToC side, efforts will be made to actively promote an AI-based "active service system." On the ToB side, the focus will be on automotive finance, aftermarket services, and factoring services, driving a comprehensive renewal of the integration of industry and finance on the ToB end.

This hybrid model that combines "central enterprise credibility + market flexibility" is redefining the rules of the game in the automotive ecosystem, attracting more partners to participate in the new industry ecosystem led by China Changan Automobile.

Conclusion:

When the "national team" steps in,

The global automotive industry ushers in the "China moment."

As a new central enterprise headquartered in Chongqing, China Changan Automobile aims to integrate the institutional advantages of central enterprises with market-oriented innovative vitality through the core framework of the "Five New" strategy—new mission, new strategy, new vehicles, new ecosystem, and new services—thereby building a unique new automotive industry ecosystem.

The establishment of China Changan Automobile is essentially an important measure for the state to firmly grasp the "strategic initiative" in the automotive industry.

The scale of 340 billion yuan is merely a starting point. The goal of breaking into the global top ten by 2030 is not the end.

This automotive group, originating from Chongqing and expanding nationwide and globally, is writing a brand-new chapter by leveraging the "stability of a central enterprise," meaning stable resource support and strategic determination; the "agility of the market," meaning flexible market responsiveness and innovative vitality; and the "strength of technology," meaning robust technological research and development capabilities and technological reserves.

As Zhu Huarong said, China Changan Automobile will promote the Chinese automotive industry to move from "individual breakthroughs" to a new stage of "group operations."

Under the guidance of national strategies, Changan Automobile is poised to become a key force in driving the rise of China’s automotive industry on the global stage, accelerating the restructuring of the global automotive landscape and ushering in a “China moment” for the global automotive industry.