They arrive in our country in 2026 but Changan’s backpack is loaded with experience. With its first two models flanking the presentation and the presence of the personalities who will direct its operations in our country, this Chinese company gained muscle in Madrid, the first stop in an expansion that they want to be as rapid as it is successful.
The cover letter was quickly put on the table: “We want to manufacture five million units in 2030. 3.5 million will be new energy cars (a category that in China includes plug-in hybrids and electric cars)” said Manuel Perez Casado, head of sales in our country and on whose shoulders most of the presentation fell.
The goal is ambitious. So much so that if it were achieved it would put the company in the famous five million club. A space reserved for the chosen ones. In the absence of knowing the consolidated data for 2025, it is only certain that two brands have far surpassed the five million units sold: Toyota (which has exceeded 11 million of cars sold) and Volkswagen. Behind, BYD has not achieved break the barrier of five million that has been fighting for two years.
That is, right now, selling five million cars means becoming the third best-selling manufacturer in the world. That’s where Changan is pointing.
Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised?
Your arrival in Spain
Although Changan arrives in Spain in 2026 as a Chinese firm that may be unknown to the general public, it has 45 years of history behind it. During the presentation, much of the speech focused on building trust in the company.
As a group, Changan is fighting, right now, to be the fourth conglomerate of China’s largest car manufacturers. Ahead and as the undisputed leader is BYD, which dominates the Asian country and has found in its BYD Seagull (Dolphin Surf in Europe) a car that has swept the low-priced models. It is followed by Chery, the largest exporter in China that sells in our country under the brands of Omoda and Jaecoo and whose cars serve as a basis for Ebro. The third group is Geely, owner of Volvo or Smart, among other companies.
Changan has, like Chery, a long tradition in the export of vehicles. It currently actively sells in 115 different countries, has 21 factories and development centers and more than 24,000 employees spread across 31 countries. In Europe they have centers in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom that, they say, will help them tune the cars to European tastes.
Changan’s contact with countries outside of what has been happening in China is not new. They have development and research centers related to autonomous driving in the United States and design centers in Japan. Furthermore, they have had and have collaborations with Ford and Mazda. So much so that Japanese electric cars are, in essence, Changan cars.
Yes, he Mazda 6e and the future Mazda CX-6e They are electric cars built on the Chinese skeleton that Mazda claims to have tuned for European tastes. For now, we have only been able to touch the first of them and we can confirm that it is a good car but that its driving feel and some details of its interior in terms of ergonomics are not exactly what we expect from this Japanese brand.
Their weapons to open a gap
Ahead of its collaborating company, Changan arrives in our country with the Deepal S05 and S07. They are practically the same car with some differences in equipment and battery size.
The first of them is the smallest and makes an appearance in our country with a 68.8 kWh battery with LFP technology which promises 485 kilometers of electric autonomy. For its part, the Deepal S07 does so with an 80 kWh NCM battery that certifies 475 kilometers of autonomy.
Both cars were on display during the presentation and we were able to get into one of them in a lap from which we can draw few real conclusions. We will have to wait for a contact or an in-depth test to have a better perspective of the whole.
If we talk about driving feel, we found it to be a car that accelerates sufficiently but lacks a bit of restraint in its suspension, too soft which generates very long supports, and that has a proposal that is too artificial in its direction, at times excessively forceful but without the ability to transmit anything that happens with the wheels, which makes us lose feeling when moving quickly.
Yes we can say that both cars are greattaking care of the materials that are reached by hand, prioritizing soft plastics and leaving the hard ones where we usually will not touch. They are very spacious cars that comply with the maxim of many other Chinese cars that we have had in our hands. In general, they are well-resolved vehicles inside, with a lot of interior space for the rear seats and with a trunk that is somewhat fair for its size.
And, above all, with very extensive equipment. The Deepal S05 comes with a 15.4-inch screen with 2.5K resolution (compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) that flows very well in the tests that we were able to do when we got on it. Its equipment has all the expected driving assistance systems in level 2 autonomy such as adaptive cruise control. Cameras with what the brand calls 540º vision are also included. That is, we can see what we have under the car.
Deepal S05 interior
For its part, the Deepal S07 adds a rotating screen that moves left or right to facilitate handling for the driver or passenger. Of course, like its little brother, it lacks any type of physical buttons for the air conditioning functions. Also included as standard is a glass roof and wireless charging for your mobile phone. In this case, the screen is 15.6 inches.
The cars have a starting price of 37,390 euros for the Deepal S05 and 44,990 euros for the Deepal S07. However, they arrive with launch promotions that leave the first at 29,750 euros and the second at 35,500 euros financing with Banco Santander. All prices shown do not include the hypothetical aid from the Auto+ Plan which should represent a new advantage.
Regarding its sale, Changan states that the brand is already available in 32 points of sale throughout Spain, including the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, and they aim to close the year with 80 dealers. They also anticipate that plug-in hybrid versions will arrive later.
But that will be in another chapter of the book that this new brand wants to open in our country.
Photos | Xataka
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