Changan Automobile Co. is working with China’s largest electric vehicle battery supplier, CATL, and leading communication equipment maker Huawei Technologies to develop high-end EVs, a top executive said.
The project was disclosed by Changan Chairman Zhu Huarong during a program aired last week by state-operated China Central Television.
The move is intended to help state-owned Changan “keep up with the times and user needs,” Zhu said during the program.
The brand’s high-tech products “will be shown to the public soon,” he added, without revealing additional details.
The move makes Changan the second state-owned automaker aiming to move upscale with new EV products.
At the Beijing auto show in September, BAIC Motor Co. launched sales of the first product, the Alpha-T, an SUV engineered by Canadian supplier Magna International for the state-owned automaker’s newly created EV brand Arcfox.
Dongfeng Motor Group also used the show to unveil a sporty electric sedan concept under its newly revealed EV brand Voyah.
Changan, based in the southwest China municipality of Chongqing, builds minibuses, sedans and crossovers under the Changan brand.
With an expanded product lineup, Changan sales surged 20 percent to top 660,000 in the first three quarters of the year, according to the China Passenger Car Alliance, the data unit of the China Automobile Dealers Association.
Changan also runs passenger-vehicle joint ventures with Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.