China’s Changan has launched Nevo in Thailand as a family-focused new energy brand, positioning it alongside Deepal rather than against it.
Nevo, the Thailand-market name for the brand known as Qiyuan in China, is pitched around comfort, safety, convenience and value, while Deepal remains the more style- and tech-led line aimed at younger buyers.
At its March 5 event in Bangkok, Changan said it wanted to become one of the top three Chinese car brands in the country by 2026, with annual sales of 30,000 units. It also plans to expand its dealer footprint to 100 locations across 60 provinces, covering Bangkok and the wider metropolitan area more heavily.
Nevo is meant to help do that heavy lifting. Changan said the two-brand setup will cover the 400,000 to 1.4 million baht market, with Nevo aimed at family buyers and Deepal taking the younger, more tech-conscious end.
On paper, that sounds neat. In practice, there is still a risk of overlap, especially in a Thai EV market that is already crowded, promotion-heavy and not exactly short of Chinese brands promising smart tech and strong value. Changan said the brands would be clearly separated. It will need to prove that in showrooms, not just on slides.
The industrial part of the plan looks more concrete. Changan’s Rayong plant, officially opened in May 2025, is its first new energy vehicle production base outside China.
The facility is intended to serve Asean and global right-hand-drive markets, and Reuters has reported that Changan’s European vehicles can be sourced from both China and Thailand. By late December 2025, the Rayong plant had already begun exporting Thai-built Deepal S05 units to Europe.
Changan also said its Thailand sales reached 14,065 vehicles in 2025, up 80.9% year on year, ranking fourth among Chinese car brands in the country.
That is solid growth, but the leap from fourth to top three will not come from ambition alone. It will depend on whether Changan can keep dealers profitable, avoid getting dragged into ruinous price wars, and make after-sales support feel credible beyond Bangkok.
Changan is expected to launch in Malaysia as well in the latter part of 2026.
