Changan Automobile denies cooperation with Qianli Technology.

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Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Recently, there have been market rumors claiming "Changan Automobile will adopt Qianli Technology's intelligent assisted driving solution and make an equity investment." In response, Changan Automobile told Wallstreetcn on May 17 that "there are currently no plans."

A person close to Changan Automobile also told Wallstreetcn that Changan's self-developed Tianshu Intelligent has reached the harvest phase and it is impossible to switch smart driving solutions.

Behind the denial lies a timing window issue.

Tianshu Intelligent Driving has just crossed several key milestones: in December 2025, Deep Blue SL03 obtained the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's first batch of L3-level access permits, and Changan received the country's first L3-specific license plate; In March 2026, it won L4-level Robotaxi testing licenses. Both licenses correspond to the same technical stack: Tianshu Intelligent Driving is based on the SDA platform's end-to-end architecture, from L2 to L4 comes from the same source.

According to the plan, Changan will achieve mass production of end-to-end large model urban pilot in 2026, with large-scale rollout of L3-level autonomous driving technology next year, gradually installed on Avita and Qiyuan models.

Additionally, SL03’s L3 pilot has already completed over 800,000 km of testing on designated routes in Chongqing, and Hesai Technology’s pure solid-state blind spot radar has been chosen for Changan’s next-generation L3 platform vehicles. Both the supply chain and road tests are progressing as scheduled.

Changan’s investment in self-developed intelligent driving did not just begin in the past couple years. Currently, its self-developed team has expanded to over 5,000 people, making it one of the car companies with the largest investment in intelligent driving R&D among domestic brands. In 2025, R&D investment for the whole year will exceed 12.5 billion yuan, accounting for 7.67% of revenue.

The Qiyuan E07 is the first mass-produced model equipped with Tianshu Intelligent’s advanced solution, marking the transition from pre-development to mass production delivery. At the global strategic release in April, Zhu Huarong further positioned the SDA platform as a universal base, reusable for robots and flying cars, making Tianshu Intelligent not just a vehicle-mounted solution.

Introducing an external solution at this moment would mean adjusting a self-developed system built over years, with considerable cost and resistance. Zhu Huarong at the same release narrowed the focus of intelligence to "safety, safety, and still safety", sharing his own daily commuting experience using SDA intelligent driving.

On the other side of the rumor, Qianli Technology’s situation is just the opposite.

Qianli Technology, originating from the Geely system, urgently needs to prove it is not just a supplier for Geely. It has made intensive contact with many car companies in the past year, but substantial progress has been limited.

During the Beijing Auto Show, Qianli Technology partnered with BAIC to launch the new brand "Youxin", announcing an ambitious goal of 8 million cars in three years. However, "Youxin" is still at the brand launch stage, and whether the first batch of models can be produced on schedule is uncertain. For Qianli Technology, BAIC is currently the only external benchmark likely to be implemented; if this benchmark fails, doors of other leading car makers will be even harder to open.

An industry insider pointed out: Intelligent driving adaptation involves underlying integration with the entire vehicle’s electronic and electrical architecture, and leading car makers choosing a supplier deeply invested by Geely sets a high threshold for trust.

Changan's choice also reflects a larger industry trend. As intelligent driving upgrades from assistance functions to core competitiveness, nearly all leading domestic brands selling over a million vehicles annually are betting on self-development. Due to scale effects, the initial investment is huge, but once mass production is reached, marginal costs are much lower than external sourcing.

Two or three years ago, car companies were still debating "self-development or outsourcing"; today, at least among the leading players, this debate is basically over. Third-party intelligent driving suppliers still have space, but it is shrinking toward small and medium car makers and foreign brands.

For now, between Tianshu Intelligent and Qianli Technology, Changan's choice is clear.

Self-development has reached the harvest phase.

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