Keynote Speech: From 30 Million to World-Class: How Changan Automobile Translates Speed into Global Trust | 36Kr 2026 East Forward Global Expansion Conference
In 2026, Chinese enterprises' global expansion is shifting from "pursuing incremental growth" to long-term global operation. On September 17, the 2026 East Forward 2nd 36Kr Global Outbound Summit, themed "Ride the Tide, Anchor at Shore", was held in Shanghai. Outbound enterprises, investment institutions from consumer, technology, manufacturing and other sectors, as well as global service providers gathered at the scene to discuss practical issues such as localized operation, user insight, supply chain, compliance, channels and global organizations. When "going global" is no longer a niche choice, enterprises need to face the real challenge: how to survive and take root in overseas markets, turn a one-off market breakthrough into sustainable operation, and gradually build their own global competitiveness.
The following dialogue is sorted and edited by 36Kr:
Peter Larko | Director of Overseas Brand Public Relations, Changan Automobile
Peter Larko: Good afternoon. It is my great honor to be here at the first session after lunch. My name is Peter Larko. Over the past few years, I have had the honor to serve as Director of Overseas Brand Public Relations of Changan, working closely with colleagues from more than 100 markets. Over these years, I have also witnessed this 164-year-old enterprise continuously achieving self-innovation.
I have witnessed Changan hit a cumulative sales volume of over 30 million units at the fastest pace among all Chinese automotive brands. I would like to ask you a question: What does a brand need to transform from being noticed to truly trusted? From a Chinese brand to a truly global brand? The answer, in my opinion, lies in a Chinese term: "An Xin" (Peace of Mind).
Today, I would like to share with you how Changan embarks on this journey: from 30 million vehicle sales to a world-class brand, from "Changan Speed" to global trust. At the same time, I would also like to share some of the challenges encountered in this process.
In December 2025, Changan became the fastest Chinese automotive brand to reach 30 million cumulative production units, hitting this cumulative production milestone. What is more noteworthy is the speed and acceleration behind this growth. The first 10 million units took 30 years, the second 10 million units took 7 years, and the third 10 million units only took 4 and a half years.
This is not just growth, but also a manifestation of capability, trust and ambition. By the end of 2025, we have established 22 overseas manufacturing bases, including our first overseas new energy vehicle manufacturing base in Thailand, with a total overseas production capacity of 350,000 units. We have entered 21 new markets, bringing our products to 118 countries and regions.
Speed made Changan quickly noticed. But to be frank, in many markets, we have gained attention, but we may not have truly walked into users' hearts. Therefore, popularity alone cannot build a world-class brand. What can? The answer lies in commitment: committing to safety, sustainable development and lasting trust to every customer. So how do we deliver on this commitment? It all starts with the Beidou TianShu Program. We firmly believe that safety is the ultimate luxury. Believe me, this is not just a marketing slogan, it is a philosophy that runs through everything we do. We have invested more than 60 billion RMB and gathered over 7,500 top global talents and intelligent system experts to build our SDA, namely TianShu Intelligent Architecture, which is designed with cybersecurity protection capabilities, supports continuous evolution, and most importantly, it is safe. This safety is not only reflected in the traditional sense of collision protection, but also covers a broader dimension. In the past, automotive safety referred to physical protection, such as seat belts, airbags and buffer zones. Later, active safety technologies were gradually added, such as automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist and other features. Of course, these are still very important, but today, safety covers all dimensions of user experience: driving safety, physical safety, psychological safety and emotional safety. But to achieve this multi-dimensional safety intelligence, the intelligent assistant must be built on a rock-solid foundation, and that is exactly where our SDA comes into play. The central ring network architecture, one-stop end-to-end large model, and seven layers of dual backup redundancy are the three technologies that give us the confidence to promise users one thing: peace of mind, every kilometer of the journey. We also have the Changan Automobile TianShu Intelligent Laboratory, the first national key laboratory of intelligent vehicle safety technology in China, which is dedicated to the research of intelligent safety technology for intelligent vehicles.
It is right here that we turn our commitment into real engineering capabilities: we have a total of 200 laboratories operating around the clock, more than 400,000 virtual simulation scenarios, and 3.3 million kilometers of test mileage.
A world-class brand must also be responsible for the planet. That is where the Shangri-La Program comes in. First of all, I would like to mention our "Golden Shield Battery", a fully self-developed battery system that achieves long service life, real safety, high efficiency and fast charging.
In terms of powertrain, we have developed the Blue Whale Ultra-Engine Powertrain System, which we believe is China's solution for the global hybrid market. It took 6 years, gathered more than 1,000 engineers, and condensed more than 1,500 authorized patents. It creates a hybrid mode that intelligently and seamlessly balances fuel and power.
To further build global trust, Mr. Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Automobile, announced the "Hainabaichuan (All Rivers Run Into Sea)" Program in Shanghai in April 2023. This is our strategic blueprint for international expansion. The initial results are positive: in 2025, Changan's overseas sales reached 637,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%, and ranked among the top two Chinese brands in 15 key markets.
Therefore, this April, we announced more ambitious goals under the "Hainabaichuan" Program. This will drive us to shift from a product-trade-driven model to an integrated full-business model covering manufacturing, trade, investment, services and ESG, to achieve coordinated growth. To deliver this ambition, we are promoting transformation in seven core dimensions: First, technology. At Changan, technology exists to serve human beings, not to chase specifications and parameters. The Blue Whale Ultra-Engine Powertrain System breaks through the traditional engine-first design concept, and balances fuel and power instead. The SDA pilot project is Changan's self-developed end-to-end intelligent driving system, designed to provide a safe, smooth and user-friendly experience for all driving scenarios.
Second, our products are gradually shifting from the globally synchronized development model to a globally native, regionally customized model. This means our platforms achieve global standardization, while products achieve regional differentiation, to ensure that each market can accurately meet customer demands.
Third, branding. We will take Blue Whale Ultra-Engine and TianShu Intelligence as technical support, land through global models such as Deepal S05, Qiyuan Q05 and Gravitation CS55, and express our brand value in a way that users can truly feel: technology with warmth makes every journey safer, smarter and greener.
Fourth, partnerships. In the next three years, we will deepen relationships with global partners, going beyond the traditional supply or distribution model. We are shifting to co-creation, joint development and mutual support in technology, products and branding, as well as production capacity sharing in manufacturing, to build an open, stable and long-term global ecosystem.
Fifth, investment. In the next three years, our investment will focus on four areas: product R&D, brand upgrading, service upgrading and ecosystem construction, putting resources into the areas that matter most to users.
Sixth, in terms of services, we are accelerating the construction of a global service network, improving the spare parts system and setting up regional spare parts centers, service centers and call centers in every core market, to achieve 24/7 response and fast support, making support truly within reach.
Seventh, equally important, is the team. In the next three years, our overseas workforce will expand significantly, with more than 70% of employees being locally hired. At the same time, we will drive the total employment of the global supply chain to exceed 15,000 people. We will continue to advance in these seven strategic dimensions, pursuing a very clear goal: to increase overseas sales to 1.5 million to 1.8 million units by 2030.
Almost everyone here is on the same path: bringing an enterprise built for a single market to multiple global markets to win a place. So instead of continuing to talk about the achievements we have made, I would like to talk about several truly difficult things. What do I mean by that? As a Chinese enterprise, we sometimes find that people tend to have formed inherent perceptions of our cars, even before they have seen our cars in person, let alone driven them. To be honest, it is very difficult to change people's existing perceptions only through persuasion, and the effect of marketing activities is also limited.
What can truly break these barriers is reliable quality, independently third-party verified tests, strong warranty support, and durable vehicle performance. That is how you win trust in any market, not through headlines or press conferences, but through patience and consistently delivering on your commitments.
Second, by combining European design with Chinese manufacturing, we have created global synergies that allow us to break through barriers. Our design centers in Turin and Munich give us access to talents who have spent their entire careers focusing on European automobiles and European customers. Our manufacturing base gives us unmatched speed and scale. The problem is that people easily treat European contributions as the final process — making styling modifications on decisions that have already been finalized. But its value can only be truly realized when it intervenes at the conceptual stage, early enough to change an engineering decision, rather than decorating an engineering decision.
Third, there is no such thing as a "global customer". The winters in Northern Europe, the high temperature and sand dust in the Gulf region, the road conditions in South America, and the charging infrastructure in different regions are all different. Right-hand drive, connected vehicle capabilities must also be adapted to local applications and comply with local data rules, so we have built a global product verification system. It covers 224 countries and regions, operates 24/7 tests covering various climate and road conditions. We have conducted 30,000 tests covering 16 vehicle attributes, from components to systems, and then to the whole vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, we conduct 3.3 million kilometers of simulation training every day. All these efforts are to ensure that we can truly build vehicles for new markets, instead of simply modifying a Chinese vehicle for export. The vehicle is built for that specific market, built from scratch.
Speed can be replicated, but trust cannot. That is exactly the difference between "selling to a market" and "truly belonging to a market".
This brings me back to the starting point: peace of mind. Peace of mind is not a feature that can be installed, nor a promise that can be boasted about. It is something that customers finally confirm you have earned — often long after you thought you had already earned it. China's automotive industry is at a historic turning point. At this moment, we are shifting from leading by scale to leading by quality, from domestic competition to global competition, from followers to leaders who are now defining the future of mobility. But I believe the dominant narrative of this era is not about speed, but about trust.
What makes the world trust us and makes us truly world-class is our ability to deliver on our commitments. It is the safety brought by the Beidou TianShu Program, the sustainability brought by the Shangri-La Program, and the deep localization brought by the "Hainabaichuan" Program. It is even more the integrity background rooted in Chongqing — this city that turns challenges into advantages, and has always been our home base to bring Changan to the world.
We are taking Changan to the world, from Chongqing to the world, from 30 million units to world-class, and this is the journey we are on. Thank you very much.