Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd.
Typejoint venture
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedJune 1993 (Chongqing)
DefunctSeptember 2018
FateSuzuki returned its stake to Changan, but later continued manufacturing the vehicles under license.
Headquarters
Chongqing
,
China
ProductsAutomobiles
Number of employees
Approximately 4,200[1]
ParentChang'an Automobile Group
Suzuki
Websitewww.changansuzuki.com (in Chinese)

Changan Suzuki (officially Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd.) was an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Chongqing, China and a joint-venture between Chang'an Automobile Group and Suzuki. Chang'an began assembling subcompact commercial Carry ST90 trucks and microbuses under license from Suzuki in early 1980s,[2] and in 1993 the two companies formed Chang'an Suzuki to build licensed versions of the Suzuki Alto and Suzuki Cultus. Changan Suzuki became defunct in 2018.

History

Changan Suzuki was formed in June 1993 with a registered capital of US$190 million.[3] It was the first automobile manufacturing joint venture to be established by a Japanese company in China (although Isuzu, Mazda and Nissan had already established joint-ventures for truck assembly).[4] The first SC7080 Alto, based on the Suzuki Alto/Fronte SB308 which was originally presented in 1986, rolled off the production line in November 1995. The car had already been produced by the Changan mother concern since 1991, and continued to be built by them until 1997.[5]

In 2010, Changan was supposed to merge its Suzuki joint venture with that of Changhe, another automaker participating in a Suzuki joint venture.[6] An effort to sell the entire Suzuki model range at unified dealerships fell through in 2008.[7]

By the end of 2010 Changan Suzuki had over 1,000 car dealerships across China. In July 2011, it was announced that Changan Suzuki would build a second assembly plant in Chongqing, in a two-phase project. The first phase will involve a total investment of five billion yuan (US$777 million) and expand production capacity of vehicles and engines by 150,000 units each. Construction of the plant began in April 2012.[8]

On 4 September 2018, Suzuki transferred its 50 percent stake in Changan Suzuki to Chang'an Automobile Group, ending 25 years of joint venture. Chang'an would continue to make and sell Suzuki-branded cars in China under a license.[9]

In 2021, Changan Suzuki was renamed to Chongqing Lingyao Automobile.[10]

Models

Sales

Changan Suzuki built a total of 107,337 cars in 2004.[5]

In 2009 sales were up to 150,069 vehicles.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "JV Cooperation". Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Haopeng, Li (2014-03-23). "源自152年前的兵工厂 忆长安汽车发展史" [The History of Changan Automobile, started as an arsenal 152 years ago] (in Chinese). Autohome.
  3. 1 2 "Milestone merger reshapes Suzuki". China Daily. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "Suzuki starts joint venture". Oxnard Press-Courier. 24 April 1993. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 World of Cars 2006·2007. Warsaw, Poland: Media Connection Sp. z o.o. 2006. p. 227.
  6. ↑ Milestone merger reshapes Suzuki chinadaily.com.cn, 2010-03-29 09:26
  7. ↑ Suzuki meets setback in merging its China sales Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine gasgoo.com, November 03, 2008
  8. ↑ "Suzuki starts work on 2nd Chongqing plant". The Daily Yomiuri. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  9. ↑ "Suzuki Forced Out of China as Buyers Continue to Favor SUVs". Bloomberg. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  10. ↑ "Changan Suzuki changes name to Lingyao Automobile". autonews.gasgoo.com. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
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