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The 1.4% Conversion: How Changan Auto Unlocked 32,000+ Sales with AI

Martyna Kozlowska
Marketing Manager

Most automotive brands struggle to convert more than 1% of their online leads into sales. For Changan Auto, one of China's leading automakers, that number remained stuck at a frustrating 0.97%.

Faced with high media costs, inconsistent lead quality, and slow follow-up times, the company turned to a sophisticated AI-driven strategy. The result? A leap in Changan Automobile’s lead-to-sale conversion rate to 1.4%, directly generating 32,823 additional vehicle sales and setting a new benchmark for the industry.

This transformation was the focus of multiple awards, including the 2025 iResearch DeepSeek Best Practice Award and the 2024 Auto Large Model Intelligent Marketing Breakthrough Award.

Let's look at how they did it.

The Solution: An AI-Powered "Lead Center"

In partnership with Deep Intelligent Technology, Changan built a new Lead Center powered by Large Language Models (LLMs). This system deployed AI robots for a variety of critical tasks:

  • Instant Data Cleansing: AI-powered calls instantly filter invalid numbers and "zombie leads."
  • Intelligent Profiling: The system automatically enriches lead profiles with accurate data and gauges customer intent based on conversation via chat.
  • Tiered Nurturing: Leads are automatically segmented. High-potential buyers are fast-tracked to sales while others receive tailored nurturing via AI-powered WeChat engagement.
  • Efficient Follow-up: The system ensures rapid and effective follow-up, reducing the average response time from 29 hours to under 1 minute.
  • Closed-Loop Recycling: Even defeated leads are recycled back into the system with new data signals, maximizing the value of every marketing dollar spent.

"I expect that in the IT industry, the accuracy and cost-efficiency of AI models will continue to improve. This will make AI adoption for process optimization increasingly accessible and economically viable. Even today, many workflows are worth optimizing — and the potential for even greater impact in the near future is immense."
Grzegorz Korzeniowski VP of Engineering, Reffine.
changan auto ai bots leads process

English version of the graphic:

ernie byd AI use

The Results: A New Industry Standard

The platform delivered staggering improvements across key metrics:

  • Lead Processing Capacity: Increased by 3x.
  • Manual Operation Costs: Reduced by 35%.
  • Sales Conversion Rate: Improved by 20%.
  • Return on Investment (ROI): Double the industry average.

Direct Sales Impact: Generated over 10,000 new vehicle sales from theleads transformed in its initial phases.

"We are building a data system that covers the entire channel lifecycle... ensuring that every handover is measurable and optimizable."
Fan Longxiang Chief Digital Marketing Officer, Changan Auto
Fan Longxiang, Chief Digital Marketing Officer, Changan Auto
"By automating complex, repetitive workflows prone to human error, AI helps mitigate operational risks that can undermine a company’s results. The AI industry is developing rapidly, increasing both the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of AI models. At scale, AI is becoming significantly more effective than humans and can operate 24/7, further amplifying its benefits."
Grzegorz Korzeniowski VP of Engineering, Reffine

Why It Matters: A Blueprint for the Industry

  • Micro-Lift, Macro-Impact: In an industry hovering below 1% conversion, Changan proved that even a fractional improvement translates to thousands of car sales and hundreds of millions in revenue.
  • A Proven Blueprint: This case study provides a clear roadmap for competitors. Rivals like BYD, NIO, and Wuling are already deploying similar AI dialers and automated WeChat flows to catch up.

The Future is Data Circulation: The real innovation is creating a closed-loop system where data from every step, from ad spend to a lost lead, informs and improves the entire process.

Finally, we’ve reached a time period when the John Wanamaker quote, 'Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half,' can be solved with AI. Lead validation issues are universal above borders and potential solutions can work as well on DeepSeek as in Sonnet LLM model or OpenAI. AI enabled the development of those solutions and improved process efficiency by a huge margin, says Adam Wardach, CEO, Reffine.

The Road Ahead: A Marathon, Not a Sprint

While these results are groundbreaking, Fan Longxiang remains pragmatic, emphasizing that true digital transformation is a long-term game:

To be honest, the automotive sector still has a long way to go in digital capabilities... In the first 3-5 years, you may see limited results, but after 7-8 years, companies typically reach a break-even point and may even see high returns.

Changan Auto's journey shows that while the initial investment in AI and data infrastructure is significant, the payoff is a powerful, sustainable competitive advantage that will redefine the future of retail.

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