Today in Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong (CCPDoG™): Hebei Xinkai Automobile, a Chinese automaker based in the great city of Gaobeidian in Hebei Province.
The company made various cars under the Guangdong scheme, including at least three variants of the Toyota Camry.
Under the Guangdong scheme, scheming parties would look for an existing Chinese car maker with a valid license to piggy-back on. They would ship in near-finished cars from abroad, and ‘produce’ them in China using that car maker’s license and designation. Usually, the original manufacturer of the car had no idea that this was happening. Read all the details about it here.
Hebei Xinkai Automobile was founded in 1984. The company’s designation os HXK. In the early these they mostly made rebadged variants of the BAW BJ212. Later on they somehow got their hands on the Beijing-Jeep Cherokee XJ, of which they made their own variant as well.
It was at about this time that they got involved in the Guangdong scheme, which lasted roughly from 1990 until 1999. The company’s own cars are interesting enough for another story, on another day. Hebei Xinkai Automobile still exists, and today they are best known for their van-making joint venture with Mercedes-Benz.
This is the first Xinkai Camry we know about. It is a U.S. spec V20 Toyota Camry LE sedan, which was manufactured from 1986 until 1992.
Note the small license plate area, typical for U.S. cars. On the left an LE badge, in the middle a non-original Toyota badge. On the left the full company name: 新凯汽车集团有限公司, or Hebei Xinkai Automobile Group Corporation. To the right of that a 2.0 engine badge.
Sadly there is no designation badge on the car.
The second Xinkai Camry is the Camry XV10, originally manufactured from 1992 until 1997. This blue car is a U.S. spec pre-facelift example, manufactured in the United States from 1991 until 1994. The Xinkai designation of the Camry XV10 was HXK6330.
Car-wide light units typical for pre-facelifted car. Note again the small license plate area, much too small for the Chinese license plate.
Xinkai Auto badge.
This is the facelifted Camry XV10, made in the U.S. from 1994 until 1997.
Another facelifted car.
And yet another one, and this one has…
… the full set of badges on the back.
On the left a Toyota badge and a HXK6630 badge.
On the right the company badge. Not sure why this car is different. The other XV10’s we have seen only had a company badge on the left, and no Toyota or designation badges. Perhaps this one was from another batch.
The third Xinkai Camry is the XV20, originally manufactured from 1996 until 2002. This dark blue car was registered in China in 1998. Sadly, I only have this single photo.
Staying with Toyota because Xinkai also made the Land Cruiser J80, originally manufactured from 1990 until 1997. Car on the photo a facelifted example. Xinkai designation was HXK5022XSC.
The type plate under the bonnet, showing the Chinese manufacturing date of July 1996.
No Xinkai badges on the outside. 24 valve badge on the left indicates this particular car is powered by the 4.5 liter straight-six petrol.
Time to go to Honda! The fifth generation Honda Accord CD5 was one of the most popular cars under the Guangdong scheme, it was ‘manufactured’ by at least ten car makers. Many were originally made in Taiwan, and shipped over to China. The Xinkai Accord is an Asian-market pre-facelifted variant. Xinkai designation was HXK6360.
The Xinkai Accord came in the news in 2007, when police stopped one during a routine check. The brand in the car’s papers, Xinkai, was not the same as the brand on the car, Honda. This was very suspicious… Well, try to explain the Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong to a Chinese cop!
Another Accord.
And another one, and happily we have a picture of the…
… interior, showing indeed an Asian-market car with an automatic gearbox.
Xinkai also made the fifth-generation Honda Civic, which was ‘manufactured’ by many Guangdong carmakers are the time. Designation was HXK6360.
And finally we come to the Mitsubishi Pajero V20, originally made from 1991 until 1999. This car was the most popular vehicle during the crazy Guangdong days, at least a dozen other companies ‘made’ it as well.
Like most of these other companies, Xinkai made the top-spec 3.0 liter V6 petrol model, with factory standard side boards, racy decals on the sides, and a luxurious leather interior. Xinkai designation was HXK2020.
Another Xinkai Pajero.
And that was Hebei Xinkai’s contribution to the Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong. If you know of any similar ‘Guangdong car’ from this period please contact us or leave a comment below.
Sources: Fr33L00k, 今晚打老虎c, Navigator84, FBlife, FBlife, ieche, Luliang, 273.cn.
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