FAW Tianjin

Xiali TJ7101/7131 hatchback

FAW Tianjin, founded in 1965, is an automobile manufacturer in China. Tianjin was the third automobile manufacturer in China, after SAIC and FAW and was considered one of the "three smalls", together with Guangzhou Honda and Beijing.[1] Tianjin moved into third place in the Chinese market in 1997.[2] By 2000 they were in second place, in spite of the low quality of their products.[3] FAW Tianjin has since lost market share to several new Chinese automobile manufacturers.

There are two different entities under Tianjin Xiali: One is a fully subsidiary division of First Automobile Works known as Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co. Ltd, while the other is a joint venture between Toyota and First Automobile Works in 2000 known as Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co Ltd.

History

Tianjin's first product, debuting in 1965, was a copy of the famous Beijing Jeep called the Tianjin TJ210. Between 1973 and 1979 the Toyota look-alike Tianjin TJ740 was also built, although only 63 were finished. In 1980, Tianjin's directors decided to look abroad for a joint venture to enable them to build modern small cars. In 1983, Daihatsu had been chosen as a partner, and in November 1984 the first vehicle rolled out from the works. At first, local parts content was a mere 8%, but this had jumped to 85% by the end of 1987. The first product was a locally built Daihatsu Hijet, followed by the Charade which began local assembly in 1986.[1]

Production began at a modest level, with 2873 automobiles (Charade) and 9329 minivans (Hijet) assembled in 1988, for a total of 12,202 vehicles. This increased rapidly, to an annual total of nearly 88,000 cars by 1996.[4]

Before the Toyota joint venture, Tianjin produced the Tianjin Xiali TJ730 (based on the 1983 Daihatsu Charade) and then the TJ7100-TJ7131 hatchback and TJ7100U-TJ7131U sedan. Xiali (夏利) is Chinese for "Charade". The TJ7100-series cars, based on the 1987 Charade, are still very popular in China as taxicabs although they are gradually being replaced by larger Volkswagen and Hyundai cars. Nonetheless, production of the Daihatsu-based Xiali N3 and A+ series continue today. Production at the Tianjin Xiali plant has now shifted to more modern Toyota vehicles, for example the Xiali 2000 is based on the Toyota Platz/Vitz. Toyota also builds and sells vehicles in China under its own brand.

Since 1984, another subsidiary of First Automobile Works (Tianjin Huali Motor Company) had manufactured Hijet-based Daihatsu mini trucks in China rebranded as Huali Dafa.[5] Currently Huali offers the first generation Daihatsu Terios and first generation Daihatsu Move.

FAW Tianjin also produces the Miles ZX40, an electric version of the Daihatsu Move which became the first Chinese-built vehicle sold in the United States when it was offered in mid-2006 by Miles Automotive Group.

Models

Current

Past

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 Komura, Chikara (2000). Hamada, Kōichi; Matsushita, Mitsuo; Kōmura, Chikara, eds. "Policies towards automobile industries in Southeast Asia". Dreams and Dilemmas: Economic Friction and Dispute Resolution in the Asia-Pacific (Singapore: Seikei University Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, Japan): 187. ISBN 981-230-069-4.
  2. ↑ Lee, Chunli; Fujimoto, Takahiro; Jin, Chen. Hozumi, Toshihiko; Wohlmuth, Karl, eds. "The impact of globalisation on the Chinese automobile industry: Policy assessments and typology of strategie" (PDF). After the Asian crisis: Schumpeter and reconstruction (Bremen, Germany: Institute for Global Economy and International Management of Bremen University) 9 (34): 94.
  3. ↑ Lee et al, p. 96
  4. ↑ Yusuf, Shahid; Wu, Weiping (1997), The Dynamics of Urban Growth in Three Chinese Cities, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, p. 167
  5. ↑ "Daihatsu News: Terios to Be Produced in China Under New Technical Licence Agreement with FAW Huali". Daihatsu Motor Co. 2003-01-24. Retrieved 2011-01-10.

External links

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