China’s Changan Automobile to move global powertrain, R&D to Birmingham, UK

Changan Automobile, one of China’s top four automobile maker, is moving the global headquarters for its powertrain and research and development divisions to Birmingham, U.K., the company announced. Birmingham, the capital city of the Midlands region and the second largest city in the U.K., is considered the epicentre of Britain’s automotive industry.

The move will allow Changan, which employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide, to tap Britain’s best automotive engineers. The new headquarters is located in the city’s Solihull district and will accommodate 200 personnel. In September, the company moved its British operations to the business park, which is located near Birmingham Airport. Its office space has now tripled in size to around 7,500 square metres.

In a statement, Changan UK’s General Manager Xiaoyu Zhang said, “We are committed to turning Changan into the world’s leading automotive company and establishing advanced technology R&D facilities across the globe is fundamental to our plans for growth.”