Changan launches in Europe with two mid-sized electric SUVs. We try the S05 for size

If you haven’t heard of Changan, the problem is probably you The Chinese manufacturer has a long history, with roots that go back to pre-industrial times and a stake in China’s car industry since the late 50s, when it produced the country’s first Jeep-style utility vehicle, the Changjiang Type 46 (a straight copy of the American original).

State-owned – in common with the majority of China’s auto industry – Changan is headquartered in Chongqing and is considered one of the country’s ‘Big Four’ manufacturers, alongside SAIC, FAW, and Dongfeng. In its home market, Changan makes vehicles across five brands, volume manufacturers Changan Auto, Changan Nevo and Deepal, premium car maker Avatr and commercial vehicles under the Kaicene brand.

Together, these companies account for nearly three million vehicle sales across China, from the Lumin microcar, priced at the equivalent of just over £5,000, to the Kaicene ShenQi T30 electric pick-up truck and the new Avatr 06 EV.

There are also Changan partnerships with Ford and Mazda, and the company claims to ‘support more than one million jobs across its entire value chain.’ It’s no fly-by-night operation, that’s for sure. In fact, Changan has had an R&D centre in Birmingham, UK, since 2019 and has had a design base in Turin since the turn of the century.

Now the company is in Europe, with a promised 2-billion-euro investment war chest and an eye on the popular and ubiquitous mid-sized SUV market. The debut models for this market are the Deepal S05 and S07. Wallpaper* travelled to slushy Austria to sample the former and see if it has what it takes to be a serious contender.

For most, if not all, buyers who decide to deepen their bond with a Deepal, the big draws are price and kit. It helps to be badge-agnostic, if not completely blind, because that way value lies. For example, the Porsche Macan EV starts at £68,600, and that’s before you’ve dipped into the German manufacturer’s extensive options list. An equivalent Volvo EX60 is £56,860, and so on.

Some of Changan’s cost efficiencies come from scale. Others from the company’s commitment to automation in its 5G-enabled, AI-powered ‘super factories’. The existence of what the company calls the ‘Vast Ocean Plan’ – or worldwide market domination – acknowledges that this liberation from the tyranny of brand is being subsidised by the Chinese state. It seems to be working; there are an ever- increasing number of Chinese brands on European roads.

The relationship does flow both ways. The company’s longstanding relationship with European engineering and design talent infuses its products in China and elsewhere. The standards demanded by European regulators and European consumers are among the highest in the world; you have to be here to be taken seriously.

Nevertheless, there’s still a little bit of learning to be had on the design front. There’s nothing remotely egregious about the Deepal S05, it’s just a little generic – a car-shaped object, rather than a bold statement of brand. Trim proportions cloak the C+ sector SUV body, with flowing lines that are less utilitarian than a Jaecoo and more distinctive than a BYD.

From the grill-less front end, which terminates in a beaky nose, flanked by dart-like driving lights, to the thick C-pillar, sculpted rear haunches, steeply raked rear screen and horizontal lightbar, the S05 is clean and competent but also faintly reminiscent of other marques.

There are premium touches, from the frameless door windows to the large 20” wheels, as well as a charge indicator light on the left-hand C-pillar. However, this is more of a novelty than the more integral and comprehensive lighting system deployed by brands like Renault or Smart.

Inside, the interior benefits from a large glass roof (a £1,000 option). Heated and ventilated front seats and a heated wheel and windscreen are all part of a comprehensive standard equipment package that trounces the offerings of established brands (many of whom have come to rely on the option list as their primary profit generator). A substantial 492l boot is bolstered by a generous 159l frunk, and Changan boasts of no less than 34 storage cubbies scattered around the interior.

One element of cost cutting that will never not be obvious is the over-reliance on touch screen controls. The Deepal S05 is no different in this respect, with many core controls relegated to the screen. Manufacturers are slowly returning to more tactile in-car controls; it’ll be interesting to see how this is handled by the Chinese brands.

In addition to the utterly stacked ADAS system (14 sensors, 17 drive systems), the Deepal S05 also has an integrated dashcam system (all data created in Europe stays in Europe, we were told).

Changan has resisted the temptation to overload the S05 with power. Still, 435PS is not to be sniffed at, enough to deliver a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds in the AWD model. That’s more and faster than an equivalent Macan, although the Porsche claims better range than the Deepal’s 303 miles (RWD model – the AWD manages 278).

The next stop is a wetted skid pan, where we can cycle through the S05’s various stability and ESC controls. A more talented driver could probably eke a bit more drama from this situation, but the bottom line is that the car feels planted and secure at modest speeds and any wayward movement is easily brought back into line.

Still, we’re not quite disciplined enough for our Austrian instructor who starts to melt down through walkie-talkie comm system, reaching ever more apoplectic levels as car after car accidentally clips the cones on the slalom course.

Emergency swerves and stops are, thankfully, a pretty rare part of everyday driving. The road route that follows, dodging roadworks and local avalanche blasting, isn’t exactly taxing, so it was certainly beneficial to experience the extremes in a car that would otherwise remain something of an unknown quantity.

Changan’s UK MD, Nic Thomas, feels that the company is doing things differently, not least because of its long-term connection to Europe. Couple this with the high levels of engineering, manufacturing and quality control currently coming out of the Chinese industry, and you have the best of both worlds.

Thomas acknowledges that on the whole European buyers trust longevity and stability. ‘A single brand has to stand for something and to do so for 20 or 30 years,’ he says, adding ‘we’ll only bring the right products to Europe.’

As the brand beds down in these new markets, more models will follow, although it won’t ever reach the 40+ strong product range seen in China. ‘We’re committed to being a top ten manufacturer,’ Thomas says, ‘and to do that, you need a full range of vehicles.’

Battery development is also high on the company’s R&D list, with solid state and sodium ion cells in the wings. Thomas has plenty of EV experience, following a long stint at Nissan. He points out that in the original Nissan Leaf, batteries cost around $1,000/kWh. Now it’s around $80.

Ultimately, Thomas and his team reckon that Changan are going to deliver what the majority of car buyers want at a very attractive price. ‘A large percentage of the population just want a car that’s cheap to operate, fun to drive and easy to use,’ he says.

For ‘car fans’, the Deepal S05 is nothing more than an exercise in box ticking. For everyone else, this is transportation delivered with the same high-tech attention to detail as the new phone in your pocket. In other words, it’s far better than what you had before.

Changan Deepal S05, from £37,900, ChanganEurope.com, @ChanganEurope