Photo: Changan
This is one more step that the Chinese car industry is taking in an attempt to take over the world's car market. Changan is taking its upcoming G318 SUV to the UK. It will come with the Land Rover Defender-like angular design and will be capable of doing the spectacular tank turn.
The Changan G318 will be a right-hand-drive 4x4 that the Chinese brand will build in Thailand for export starting in 2025. It is the brand's latest creation to be designed with the European market in mind as well. Auto giants such as BYD and Chery have already done it, and it worked. BYD's Seal and Chery's Omoda 5 are selling there.
There is no official information on the upcoming G318 except for the fact that it will stretch to almost 5 meters (196.9 inches), which will position it in the same segment as the BMW X6 (4,960 millimeters or 195.2 inches) or Audi Q8 (4,986 millimeters or 196.3 inches).
However, unofficial information places it as a mid-segment SUV, with a length of 4,750 millimeters (187 inches), which puts it right next to BMW's X4 (4,745 millimeters or 186.8 inches) and Tesla's Model Y (4,750 millimeters), for instance.
Official photos reveal an angular design, similar to what the Land Rover Defender displays. It also has the spare wheel mounted up on the trunk door opening sideways. The model will reportedly be capable of performing the spectacular tank turn, which we have already seen in the YangWang U8 and Zeekr 001, both coming from China, and in the Mercedes EQG prototype.
The model is built around a new ladder-frame chassis, specifically designed to provide better wheel articulation and make it more capable off-road than the crossovers and SUVs that are currently in Deepal's lineup, all underpinned by Changan's EPA1 architecture.
The G318 is expected to hit the market with a petrol-electric range-extender powertrain carried over from models such as the L07 sedan and S07 crossover, available on the Chinese market.
The powertrain integrates a four-cylinder, 1.5-liter petrol engine that operates as a generator to produce electric energy. It works alongside two electric motors, which generate a total system output of 258 horsepower. One of them engages the front wheels, while the other, mounted on the rear axle, drives the rear wheels in an all-wheel drive setup.
Customers can choose either the 19 kWh or the 28.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack for a range between 320 and 746 miles, estimated by China's generous CLTC testing procedure.
The L07 and S07 lineups also include fully electric and hydrogen fuel-cell variants, so those should also drop in the G318 lineup at a later date.
Deep officials confirmed for the British publication Autocar that the brand intends to enter the Asian and European markets in an attempt to sell 450,000 vehicles per year in 2024 there, which would be 17% of Changan's overall global sales of 2.55 million last year.
The model that will sell in the UK will roll off the production line of the new Changan plant in Rayong, Thailand, in which the Chinese have already invested 197 million pounds ($251 million).
The facility will produce both left- and right-hand drive models, indicating that the UK is far from being the only European territory Changan is interested in. The plant will start operating in 2025 and will have a production capacity of 100,000 in the first year. The capacity is expected to double in the following years.
There is no official information on the upcoming G318 except for the fact that it will stretch to almost 5 meters (196.9 inches), which will position it in the same segment as the BMW X6 (4,960 millimeters or 195.2 inches) or Audi Q8 (4,986 millimeters or 196.3 inches).
However, unofficial information places it as a mid-segment SUV, with a length of 4,750 millimeters (187 inches), which puts it right next to BMW's X4 (4,745 millimeters or 186.8 inches) and Tesla's Model Y (4,750 millimeters), for instance.
Official photos reveal an angular design, similar to what the Land Rover Defender displays. It also has the spare wheel mounted up on the trunk door opening sideways. The model will reportedly be capable of performing the spectacular tank turn, which we have already seen in the YangWang U8 and Zeekr 001, both coming from China, and in the Mercedes EQG prototype.
The model is built around a new ladder-frame chassis, specifically designed to provide better wheel articulation and make it more capable off-road than the crossovers and SUVs that are currently in Deepal's lineup, all underpinned by Changan's EPA1 architecture.
The G318 is expected to hit the market with a petrol-electric range-extender powertrain carried over from models such as the L07 sedan and S07 crossover, available on the Chinese market.
The powertrain integrates a four-cylinder, 1.5-liter petrol engine that operates as a generator to produce electric energy. It works alongside two electric motors, which generate a total system output of 258 horsepower. One of them engages the front wheels, while the other, mounted on the rear axle, drives the rear wheels in an all-wheel drive setup.
Customers can choose either the 19 kWh or the 28.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack for a range between 320 and 746 miles, estimated by China's generous CLTC testing procedure.
The L07 and S07 lineups also include fully electric and hydrogen fuel-cell variants, so those should also drop in the G318 lineup at a later date.
Deep officials confirmed for the British publication Autocar that the brand intends to enter the Asian and European markets in an attempt to sell 450,000 vehicles per year in 2024 there, which would be 17% of Changan's overall global sales of 2.55 million last year.
The model that will sell in the UK will roll off the production line of the new Changan plant in Rayong, Thailand, in which the Chinese have already invested 197 million pounds ($251 million).
The facility will produce both left- and right-hand drive models, indicating that the UK is far from being the only European territory Changan is interested in. The plant will start operating in 2025 and will have a production capacity of 100,000 in the first year. The capacity is expected to double in the following years.
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