China’s Changan Deepal takes over former Hyundai plant

Deepal, the new energy vehicle (NEV) brand under Changan Automobile, has acquired a former Hyundai plant in China.

Changan has taken over Beijing Hyundai’s Chongqing factory and converted it into production lines for Deepal. The company confirmed the acquisition, saying the plant’s branding was changed in late October, though production has not yet resumed, Cnevpost writes. 

The Chongqing facility was Beijing Hyundai’s fifth plant. Construction began in 2015, and operations started in August 2017. The 1.87-million-square-meter factory, built with an investment of RMB 7.7 billion (USD 1.1 billion), had an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles but halted output in December 2021 amid declining Hyundai sales in China. It was sold at the end of 2023 to a Chongqing state-owned enterprise for RMB 1.62 billion.

For Changan, the acquisition comes as the automaker faces growing pressure on its production network. Changan’s total capacity in 2024 stood at 2.25 million vehicles with an 84 percent utilization rate. The company’s 2025 sales target of three million units would strain existing facilities.

Hyundai’s retreat from China has resulted in multiple plant sales. Its first Beijing factory, idle since 2019, was acquired in 2021 by EV maker Li Auto and now serves as Li Auto’s Beijing production base.

The Deepal takeover also reflects a broader realignment in China’s auto industry. Earlier this month, LatePost reported that Geely Galaxy, a sub-brand of Geely Auto, would take over a former SAIC-GM factory in Shenyang that had ceased operations.

Several years ago, China’s wave of domestic automaker exits left behind substantial unused capacity, which was later purchased by leading carmakers and EV startups.

Today the companies with idle production capability are increasingly joint-venture brands—many of which have struggled to maintain competitiveness in the world’s largest auto market as domestic NEV makers rapidly expand.

By Sabina Mammadli