Changan Automobile denies cooperation with Qianli Technology

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Recently, market rumors have claimed that “Changan Automobile will adopt Qianli Technology’s intelligent assisted driving solution and invest in shares.” In response, Changan Automobile told Wall Street Journal on May 17 that “there are no plans at the moment.”

Someone close to Changan Automobile told Wall Street Journal that Changan’s self-developed Tianqu intelligent system has reached the harvest period and switching to another autonomous driving solution is impossible.

The denial behind this is a matter of timing.

Tianqu Intelligent Drive has just crossed several key milestones: in December 2025, the Blue Deep SL03 received the first batch of L3 level access permits from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Changan was awarded the country’s first dedicated L3 license plate; in March 2026, it obtained an L4 Robotaxi testing license. Both licenses correspond to the same technical stack, with Tianqu Intelligent Drive based on the SDA platform’s end-to-end architecture, from L2 to L4 sharing the same source.

According to the plan, Changan will achieve end-to-end large model urban navigation mass production in 2026, with L3 autonomous driving technology scaled up next year, gradually equipped on the Avita and Qiyuan models.

In addition, the L3 pilot of Deep Blue SL03 has completed over 800k kilometers of testing on designated sections in Chongqing, and Hesai Technology’s pure solid-state blind-spot radar has also obtained the pre-installation mass production approval for Changan’s next-generation L3 platform vehicles. Both supply chain and road testing are progressing on schedule.

Changan’s investment in autonomous driving self-research has not started only in recent years. Currently, Changan’s self-developed team has expanded to over 5,000 people, making it one of the automakers with the largest autonomous driving R&D investment among independent brands. In 2025, R&D expenditure will exceed 12.5 billion yuan, accounting for 7.67% of revenue.

Qiyuan E07’s first mass production model is equipped with Tianqu Intelligent Drive’s advanced solution, marking the transition from pre-research to mass production delivery. Zhu Huaryong further positioned the SDA platform as a universal base that can be reused for robots and flying cars during the global strategy release in April. The strategic role of Tianqu Intelligent Drive is no longer just a vehicle-mounted solution.

Introducing external solutions at this point means adjusting the self-developed system that has been invested in for years, which involves significant costs and resistance. Zhu Huaryong also narrowed the focus of intelligence to “safety, safety, and safety” at the same event, sharing his personal experience of commuting with SDA intelligent driving.

On the other side of the rumor, Qianli Technology is in an entirely different situation.

Emerging from Geely’s ecosystem, Qianli Technology urgently needs to prove that it is not just a supplier for Geely. Over the past year, it has engaged with multiple automakers intensively but with limited substantive progress.

During the Beijing Auto Show, Qianli Technology partnered with BAIC to launch a new brand “Youxin,” aiming to sell 8 million vehicles in three years. However, “Youxin” is still at the brand launch stage, and whether the first batch of models can be mass-produced on time remains uncertain. For Qianli Technology, BAIC is currently the only external benchmark with potential for implementation. If this benchmark cannot be achieved, it will be even harder to open doors to other leading automakers.

An industry insider pointed out: “Autonomous driving adaptation involves underlying integration with the vehicle’s electronic and electrical architecture. Leading automakers tend to choose suppliers in which Geely has deep equity, as trust thresholds are high.”

Changan’s choice also reflects a broader industry trend. When autonomous driving upgrades from an assistive feature to a core competitive advantage, top independent brands with annual sales exceeding one million vehicles are almost all betting on self-research. Due to scale effects, initial investments are huge, but once the mass production inflection point is crossed, marginal costs are far lower than external procurement.

Two or three years ago, automakers were still debating “self-research or external sourcing”; today, at least among the leading camp, this debate has essentially ended. The space for third-party autonomous driving suppliers still exists but is shrinking toward small and medium-sized automakers and foreign brands.

From the current perspective, Tianqu Intelligent Drive remains Qianli Technology, and Changan’s choice is clear.

Self-developed to the harvest period.

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