Two years after being launched as an independent brand, Changan's sub-brand Oshan (Oushang) is starting to step into the electrification phase.
On April 26, Changan Oshan announced two pure electric models, the compact pure electric SUV Changan Oshan X7 EV and the 7-seat pure electric MPV Changan Oshan Koshang EV.
Among them, the Oshan X7 EV is priced at RMB 169,900-189,900 for pre-sale and the KeShan EV is priced at RMB 166,800. According to Changan Oshan, the launch of these two models "marks the official entry of Changan Oshan cars into the pure electric era".
Changan Oshan, which was shed from Changan Commercial Vehicles, previously focused its business on the commercial micro-vehicle market, and Oshan is just the name of a commercial MPV model under Changan Commercial Vehicles.
In April 2018, Changan Automobile reorganized its brand structure and formed a new brand pattern consisting of four brands: Changan Passenger Cars, New Mid-High-end Passenger Cars, Oshan Automotive, and Ketchum Automotive.
And Oshan Auto has changed from a commercial vehicle brand to an independent passenger car brand by packaging its commercial vehicle business into Kaicheng Automotive.
Oshan is positioned at the entry level of the Changan passenger car brand. After the brand's first anniversary, the brand strategy of "Going to the Top" was released, covering the three plans of "Technology to the Top", "Marketing to the Top" and "Products to the Top".
According to the plan, by 2021, Changan Oshan Automotive will launch 12 new products, including four new energy products, covering the three major markets of SUV, MPV and sedan.
Both the electric models launched by Oshan this time are based on the existing fuel tankers, and the oversized body dimensions and rich smart features are the main advantages of both the cars.
The Changan Oshan X7 EV has a wheelbase of 2780mm and a length and width of 4705*1860*1720mm, exceeding the body dimensions of mainstream compact SUVs.
The X7 EV also features face recognition and is powered by the OnStyle2.0Oshan smart network connectivity system. However, the range of the Changan Oshan X7EV and the Korsun EV are 405km and 400km respectively, which is moderate.
At this stage, the market share of pure electric models, especially pure electric MPVs, is not high; in March, the number of pure electric MPVs with recorded sales was only four, and monthly sales remained in double digits.
This means that it will not be easy for Changan Oshan to make a breakthrough in sales with the two pure electric models that it has released this time as a complement to its existing models.
Looking at the entire product layout of the Changan Oshan, its model layout is already relatively well developed. In the two years following the launch of the brand, Chang'an Oshan has launched the Kordsa, Kordsa 3, Kordsa 5, X7, Changxing and Korsun, plus the previous X70A, CX70, A600 and A800 models, almost covering the mainstream SUV and MPV market.
But before the launch of the Changan Oshan X7, the Changan Oshan had been lacking in "pop model" models, and in November 2019, the Oshan X7 went on sale, the order volume exceeded 35,000 units a month, with "pop model" potential.
The Cosun is a mid-size 7-seater MPV launched by the Changan Oshan in January 2019, with total sales of around 4,000 units last year.
Building electric vehicles based on better-selling models is a common practice for most brands to enter the electric vehicle field, which is conducive to increasing the visibility of electric vehicles.
According to Chang'an Oshan, the KeShan EV has gained the favor of some big customers, and before the new car was launched, it had already received the first batch of 3,000 customized cooperation orders from the domestic Internet travel service platform HelpBang and Beijing QingChangFeng Group.
In addition to increasing the layout of products, Chang'an Oshan is also pushing forward the technical content and quality in accordance with the brand strategy of "to the fashion" released a year ago. Technologically, Changan Oshan has drawn on Changan Automotive for model development, manufacturing and quality control.
In April last year, China's first private orbital stage launch vehicle was officially named "Changan Oshan" to promote its "space quality".
In November, Changan Oshan also earned eyeballs when it set the Oshan X7's launch location at the Great Hall of the People.
Through its multifaceted efforts, Changan Oshan has achieved good sales in its two years of existence. The data shows that Oshan's 2019 sales reached 133,200 units, and in March this year, with domestic passenger car sales down 48%, Changan Oshan achieved bucking the trend, selling 17,000 units, up 30% year-on-year.
Also similar to Oshan's development path in China is Chery Holdings' Jetway series. Both are backed by well-established automotive companies, and both are positioned to focus on price/performance.
The data shows that Jetway's 2019 sales reached 138,000 units, which is a better performance than the industry average. These two young brands and product sequences are also known as "dark horses of the car market" by industry insiders.
But on the other hand, whether it's Jetway or Oshan, it's a question of how long the strategy of relying on value for money to achieve market growth will last.
Previously, China's auto market had a number of similar brands, such as BAIC Mirage, the brand in just a few years to exceed 500,000 annual sales, also regarded as the market "dark horse", but ultimately due to product quality and other problems in the development of setbacks, and now has withdrawn from the market.
In this sense, Changan Oshan, which has achieved rapid sales growth in its two years of existence, still has a long way to go if it is to achieve long-term healthy development.
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