Changan’s Deepal G318 set to tackle Toyota Prado in Oz

Changan has announced it will begin exporting right-hand drive versions of the Deepal G318 4x4 from 2025, opening the door for the new Chinese brand to launch Down Under with a cut-price, Thai-built Toyota Prado rival.

So far, the 5.0-metre-long Deepal G318 has only been confirmed for the UK market, but an Australian introduction is on the cards as part of Changan’s plans to ramp up the number of cars it exports globally.

Full details of the Deepal have yet to be released but the rugged Prado rival will be based on a tough ladder-frame chassis designed to provide maximum wheel articulation off-road.

Initially, the boxy-looking Deepal G318 is expected to be introduced with a petrol-electric range-extender that’s a development of the powertrain currently offered in the Deepal L07 and S07 SUVs already on sale in China.

If so, expect the G318 to combine a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with two electric motors that drive both the front and rear axle and produce around 192kW combined.

The combustion engine only acts as a generator, with no connection to the wheels.

Buyers will get the choice of either a 19kWh or 28.4kWh lithium-ion battery.

Once introduced, the G318 is tipped to get the additional option of pure-electric power as well as a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain for select markets with enough infrastructure in place.

Following its launch in Europe and parts of Asia, Changan is targeting annual sales of 450,000 units with Deepal.

Parent Changan, meanwhile, produced 2.25 million cars last year.

To ensure it will succeed in European markets like the UK, the company will invest £197 million ($A375m) and build a new car plant in Rayong in Thailand, which will be capable of building 100,000 units in its first year of operation when it opens in 2025.

Production of right- and left-hand drive vehicles will then be ramped up to 200,000 cars annually.

To ensure its cars have been catered for European tastes, Changan has opened R&D centres in Turin, Italy, Munich, Germany, and Birmingham in the UK.

Changan Automobiles is said to be China’s oldest car-maker, with the origins of the state-owned company capable of being traced back to 1862 when it supplied goods to the military.

It only began making cars back in 1959, with the first vehicle a Chinese copy of the American Willys Jeep.

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