Overseas giants stumble in the new energy sector: only 35 vehicles sold in a year, Changan divests 40% stake at a discounted price

Pains in the new-energy transformation of joint-venture car companies. Are independent brands starting to "cut off"?!

According to a report by CheDongXi on June 10th, recently, information from the Chongqing United Assets and Equity Exchange showed that Changan Automobile has listed its 40% equity stake in Changan Ford New Energy for transfer, with a base transfer price of approximately 154 million yuan.

▲Announcement of the equity listing transaction

If the transaction is completed, Changan Automobile will no longer directly hold equity in the company. However, Changan Automobile can still indirectly hold approximately 30% of the equity in Changan Ford New Energy through its 50% stake in Changan Ford.

Information shows that Changan Ford New Energy was established in September 2023. Its equity structure is 60% held by Changan Ford and 40% held by Changan Automobile. It was originally regarded as an important carrier for Changan Ford's new-energy business transformation.

▲Equity information of Changan Ford New Energy (Source: Qichacha)

However, since October 1st, 2025, the company has stopped undertaking the current Ford brand's vehicle and after-sales sales services of Changan Ford, and there are no plans or investment arrangements for its main business such as vehicle and parts sales in the future.

This change can be more clearly seen from the financial data of Changan Ford New Energy.

In 2025, Changan Ford New Energy's operating income was approximately 913 million yuan, and its net profit was approximately 52.7567 million yuan.

By the first four months of 2026, the company's operating income plummeted to -102,900 yuan, and its net profit was approximately 1.2562 million yuan. The operating profit column shows "unable to provide by the enterprise" or "unable to provide by the business".

It can be seen that after not undertaking Changan Ford's related business, the company's main business may be close to "shutdown".

Meanwhile, Ford's performance in the domestic new-energy passenger vehicle market has also been quite dismal.

Among the models already on the market, the sales volume of the Ford Mustang Mach - E has almost reached zero, with only 35 units sold throughout 2025. The newly launched Ford Bronco Sport offers both pure - electric and extended - range power options. In April and May 2026, its sales volumes were 149 and 49 units respectively, and it is still in the early stage of sales growth.

The Changan Ford New Energy sedan CX810, which was expected to take over, has not been officially launched as of May 2026.

This means that Ford still lacks a real volume - selling model to open up the situation in its new - energy business in China.

01.

The former "electrification test field"

Now its main business may have shut down

The establishment of Changan Ford New Energy initially carried an obvious meaning of "restarting Ford's new - energy business in China".

In August 2023, Changan Ford announced that it would take over the operation of the Ford Mustang Mach - E in the Chinese market. The Mach - E became the first pure - electric vehicle under Changan Ford and shared Changan Ford's sales channels and after - sales service system.

Subsequently, Changan Automobile and Changan Ford jointly established Changan Ford New Energy, attempting to revitalize Ford's new - energy products through a new joint - venture structure.

According to the original plan, Changan Ford New Energy was not only supposed to take over the Mach - E but also combine Changan's resources in localization, supply chain, and new - energy technology with Ford's advantages in brand, handling, and product engineering. It was planned to launch a new product every year starting from 2025, and the first strategic model was codenamed CX810.

However, the actual progress has not been smooth. The Ford Mustang Mach - E has been performing poorly in the Chinese market for a long time. Public data shows that its sales volume in 2024 was less than 1,000 units, and only 35 units were sold throughout 2025. Some media even mentioned that there has been no public sales data for this car since August 2025.

In addition, Ford's new product succession has not been timely. After the CX810 was exposed around 2024, there have been multiple reports of its upcoming launch in the market. At the Ford China Dealer Conference in early 2026, it was reported that Changan Ford showed the model to some dealer investors and said that it planned to launch the model within the year.

▲Preview of the Ford CX810 (left)

However, as of now, there is still no clear production and launch schedule for this model.

The more crucial turning point comes from the reconstruction of Ford's sales system in China.

On September 23rd, 2025, Ford China announced the establishment of Ford Motor Sales and Service (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in Shanghai. This company is a wholly - owned subsidiary of Ford, responsible for the marketing, sales, and service of Ford brand passenger cars and pick - up trucks in the Chinese market, and it officially started operations on October 1st, 2025.

▲Shareholders of Ford Motor Sales and Service (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Source: Qichacha)

This company took over the sales channels of Changan Ford, Jiangling Ford, Changan Ford New Energy, and Ford imported cars.

That is to say, the distribution and after - sales related functions previously undertaken by Changan Ford New Energy were taken over by Ford's wholly - owned sales company.

After the main business entry was taken away, the value of Changan Ford New Energy declined rapidly, and its financial performance also showed a cliff - like change.

However, in response to the market's claim of "selling at a 60% discount", Changan Automobile has responded that the company directly holds a 40% equity stake, and this transfer is of this directly - held part. It is not selling 100% of the equity at a 60% discount. The listing price is determined based on the evaluation value of the appraisal institution, and there is no so - called low - price selling.

Judging from the data, this explanation is also consistent.

In 2025, the owner's equity of Changan Ford New Energy was approximately 383 million yuan, and 40% of the equity corresponds to approximately 153 million yuan, which is basically close to the listing base price of 154 million yuan.

02.

Joint - venture brands face great pressure in new - energy transformation

Changan Automobile itself is growing rapidly

The embarrassment of Changan Ford New Energy is also a microcosm of the overall transformation pressure of Changan Ford.

Changan Ford reached a peak sales volume of nearly one million vehicles in 2016, but then continued to decline. In 2019, its sales volume fell below 200,000 units. After a brief recovery to approximately 300,000 units in 2021, it weakened again.

In 2024, Changan Ford's sales volume was approximately 247,000 units, but in 2025, its retail sales volume was reported to have dropped to 99,400 units, falling below the 100,000 - unit mark for the first time. Another statistic shows that Changan Ford's wholesale sales volume in 2025 was 121,500 units, and its retail sales volume was less than 100,000 units.

It is worth noting that since June 2025, Changan Automobile has no longer separately disclosed the production and sales data of Changan Ford but has included it in the overall performance statistics.

▲Ford Mustang Mach - E

In contrast, Changan Automobile's own new - energy business is growing rapidly.

In 2025, Changan Automobile's annual sales volume was approximately 2.913 million vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 8.54%. Among them, the sales volume of new - energy vehicles was approximately 1.11 million vehicles, a year - on - year increase of approximately 51%. The overseas sales volume was approximately 637,300 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 18.85%.

Changan Automobile's new - energy growth mainly comes from its independent brand matrix. In 2025, the sales volume of Changan Qiyuan was approximately 410,000 units, the sales volume of Deepal exceeded 325,000 units, and the sales volume of Avatr was approximately 120,000 units, which formed the core support for Changan Automobile's new - energy business.

In this context, it is not difficult to understand Changan Automobile's decision to withdraw from direct equity holding in Changan Ford New Energy.

On the one hand, the products of the joint - venture new - energy project have not achieved large - scale sales, and the business entry has been reconstructed. On the other hand, the independent new - energy brands are continuously growing, and the demand for overseas and intelligent investment is increasing.

Now, it is almost an inevitable choice for the enterprise to re - allocate resources.

Of course, this does not mean the end of the cooperation between Changan and Ford.

Changan Automobile responded that the equity adjustment of Changan Ford New Energy is a normal business arrangement, which does not affect the cooperation between Changan and Ford and does not affect the implementation of the new - energy strategy.

03.

Conclusion: It is difficult for joint - venture brands to transform into new - energy

The transfer of Changan Ford New Energy's equity is, on the surface, Changan Automobile's withdrawal from direct equity holding, but in essence, it is a readjustment after the trial - and - error of the joint - venture new - energy model.

The failure of the Mustang Mach - E, the long - awaited launch of the CX810, and the takeover of Ford's sales channels by the wholly - owned sales company have made this company lose its main business fulcrum.

For Changan, it is obviously more certain to continue to increase investment in independent new - energy, overseas, and intelligent fields.

For Ford, the real challenge is how to rebuild its product and channel competitiveness in China.

This article is from the WeChat official account "CheDongXi", author: Janson, editor: Zhihao. Republished by 36Kr with permission.