Changan Rayong Plant's First 500 Units Export to Europe: The Era of "Made in Thailand, Sold Globally" for Chinese Autos Begins

Core Data/Events First Export Shipment: At the end of 2025, the first batch of 500 Deepal S05 vehicles from Changan’s Rayong plant in Thailand was shipped to Europe. This marks Changan’s transition from “product export” to the new “local production + regional radiation” 2.0 phase. ● Plant Positioning: The Rayong plant is Changan’s first overseas NEV production base, with Phase I annual capacity of 100,000 units, planned to expand to 200,000 units . The plant primarily produces right-hand drive models, serving both Southeast Asia and serving as a bridgehead for European exports, effectively reducing tariffs and logistics costs. ● Global Footprint: Changan’s global operations now extend to 117 countries and regions, with 41 adapted models and 19 overseas KD projects completed, building an industrial landscape “anchored in Southeast Asia, radiating globally” . ● Sales Performance: In January 2026, Changan delivered 170,831 units globally, with overseas markets contributing 43,628 units—32.4% of total global deliveries .

Industry Insights Changan’s Rayong plant exporting to Europe offers three lessons for Chinese automakers going global:

“Made in Southeast Asia” Is Becoming a New Globalization Path: Amid rising EU and US tariff barriers, leveraging Southeast Asia’s FTA networks and cost advantages for “Made in Southeast Asia, Sold Globally” is becoming a pragmatic choice for Chinese automakers to bypass trade barrier.

“Localization” and “Export Orientation” Can Coexist: The Rayong plant serves both local Southeast Asian markets and exports to Europe—this means higher capacity utilization, stronger scale effects, and lower unit costs. Single-market factories struggle to support 100,000-unit capacity, but the “local + export” dual-drive model makes it work.

“Supply Chain Resilience” Is the Prerequisite for Export: For Thai-made products to be accepted in European markets, core component quality, local assembly precision, and logistics efficiency are all essential. This tests not just the overseas operational capability of automakers, but the entire Chinese auto supply chain’s collaboration ability.

Changan Thailand DeepalS05 ExportToEurope LocalProduction RegionalHub