Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF): Hangtian Auto

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF): Hangtian Auto. This brand was owned and manufactured by two closely related companies: Guizhou Hangtian and Zhongguo Jiangnan Hangtian. Both companies were based in Guizhou Province and their core business was military aerospace, including spacecrafts, airplanes and missiles.

Hangtian Auto (航天汽车) literally means ‘Aerospace Auto’. The brand was founded in 1984 and existed until about 2005. During that time, Hangtian Auto made a series of vans, small trucks, and minibuses.

The Hangtian logo resembled a missile inside a G, for Guizhou.

The characters write Hangtian Qiche, Hangtian Auto. Over the years, the company used various English names: “Space” Mobiles, “Space” Brand, and Hangtian Brand. When the word space was used, it was written with double quotation marks. In the early days, Hangtian used two designations: GHT and SG. Later on, the SG designation disappeared and Hangtian continued with GHT alone.

Most of Hantian’s early vehicles were based on the fourth-generation ToyoAce, which was made from 1979 until 1985. It is not entirely clear how Hangtian got the blueprints and tooling.

Toyota’s website on its history in China says the following: “October 1983: SKD assembly of 16,600 Toyoace units commenced at six plants including Guangdong FAW Manufacturing.” And: “December 1985: Toyoace technical support provided in Guangzhou.” So there was assembly of 16,600 units divided over six “plants”, but it seems that Toyota actually means ‘car makers’, as they list Guangdong FAW Manufacturing as an example. One of the other five plants may have been Hangtian Auto.

The term SKD assembly refers to a manufacturing technique where a vehicle is produced in location X using SKD kits produced in location Y. SKD means semi-knocked-down. That refers to a kit with a complete, welded car body, usually coated or already painted. In SKD assembly, there is very little actual production in X, as most of the vehicle is shipped in from Y.

In some older brochures, Hangtian explains the Toyota connection like this: “Experiencing a developed way from the beginning of assembling the imported CKD to the end of realizing the home-made work. The truck remains the performances of Japanese “TOYOACE” motor. In order to suit domestic situation and answer users’ request, our corporation has succeeded in adopting the chassis of GHT1030 light truck and developed “Space” brand GHT 6470 mini-bus of new kind”.

CKD refers to CKD assembly, where a vehicle is assembled in location X using CKD kits produced in location Y. So far similar to SKD. But CKD stands for complete knock-down. And that refers to a kit of entirely unassembled parts of a product. So with CKD there is more actual production than with SKD.

What Hangtian seems to say is that they started with Toyota-supplied CKD kits, then made improvements, and then started producing entirely on their own. This of course is a method used by so many Chinese car makers: make a deal with a foreign auto maker, copy the product with a few changes, and call it your own.

The question is whether the history described by Toyota is the same as described by Hangtian. I believe it is. It seems highly unlikely that Toyota conducted separate SKD and CKD operations at exactly the same time, for the same vehicle. So that leads to a simple conclusion: Hangtian got the Toyoace directly from Toyota, and turned it into a Hangtian. The first Hantian-branded Toyoace was the GHT1030:

GHT1030 / SG120

Design of the GHT1030 stayed very close to the Toyota Toyoace. Hangtian made a few minor changes to the front and added the Hangtian name in Chinese ‘handwritten’ characters. The GHT1030 was rated at 1,25 ton and could transport 6 people, including the driver.

A brilliant photo by Erik of a SG120-designated example, seen in Henan Province.

Hangtian characters in red, badge in gray over red, and the SG120 badge in gray.

The GHT1030 was initially available with two engines: a Toyota 12R motor with 65 hp and 117 Nm, or a BAW BJ4750 motor with 64 hp and 108 Nm. Top speed with the Toyota engine was 100 km/h and with the BAW engine 95 km/h.

GHT1030 first update

The Hangtian handwritten logo was deleted with the first update of the GHT1030, and replaced with a Hangtian-badge in Latin script on the left side of the cabin, under the windshield. At this time, the designation SG120 was cancelled. The factory photo also shows the interior, with the 3-seat front row, with a driver’s seat and a bench that seems just big enough for two not-too large men.

A pretty factory photo with a classy dark green car and a dark white car. On some pictures the truck has wheel covers, on others it does not. Probably a spec thing.

Note the English ‘Hangtian brand’ branding.

A brochure with using the “Space” Mobiles brand name.

This seems to be the same dark green as in the factory photo.

GHT 1030 and the factory name (Zhongguo Jiangnan Hangtian)

GHT1030EB single cab

There were some other variants of the GHT1030, but they seem comparatively rare. The GTH1030EB was a single cab version with a long bed. I have found only one picture of it, and it goes without wheel covers.

GHT1030ED box truck

The GHT1030ED was a single cab box truck, likely on the same chassis as the GTH1030EB.

A factory photo with Hangtian Qiche (航天汽车) and the Hangtian logo on the side. Note the tiny fire extinguisher!

GHT5030XYC

The GHT5030 was a very special variant, turning the truck into a small bus. Photo by Erik again, who was lucky enough to see so many of these great cars in the wild in period.

The main cabin seated six again, and the additional cabin on the back could seat another 6 to 8 persons. The door was at the rear.

GHT5030XYC-C

Interestingly, Hangtian also developed a panel-van version based on the bus, with the windows taken out, but you can still see the window’s shape. This version was called the GHT5030XYC-c.

GHT6470 / SG6470

The GHT6470 was based on the second generation Toyota HiAce, which was made from 1977 until 1982. We know that Toyota officially manufactured the HiAce in a joint venture with Jinbei. Production there started at 1988. How Hengtian got the design and production line is unclear, but the SG6470 definitely had Toyota genes.

The GHT6470 was available with two Toyota engines: the 64 hp 12R and with a  87 hp / 157 Nm 3Y engine, which was a powerful motor for the time.  The SG6470 could take 12 people including the driver. There was a small two seat bench at the front row and folding chairs on the right side of the second and third rows, a very common setup for minibuses at the time.

Like with the truck, the early cars had a Hangtian handwritten badge, but that didn’t last long.

Factory photos showing the GHT6470 with the Latin-script Hangtian badge.

Update 1

An update of the GHT6470 deleted the air intakes above the grille. The interior with classy brown seats. Folding seats don’t look very comfortable…

An updated GHT6470 seen by Erik, without the air intakes, and also without wheel covers.

GHT5030XQC Prisoners Van

There were many variants of the GHT6470. The coolest one was probably the GHT5930XQC “prisoners’ van”, for transporting the bad guys around. It was painted in white with a blue stripe, and it had red factory standard police lights and a siren on the roof.

The GHT5030XQC was a movie star! It played a role in the Chinese movie Tiehan Jiaowa, alongside a lot of other cool cars.

Another GHT 5030XQC with a different blue stripe, it sits lower on the sides than on the other car.

GHT5030XJH Ambulance

The ambulance version was designated GHT5030XJH. It had red crosses on the doors and on the roof-based siren. The police lights are blue on the ambulance.

A slightly different version with another under-bumper section, a larger red cross, and another light bar.  

GHT6480

The new GHT6480 was based on the fourth generation Toyota HiAce, not the Japanese one, but the Chinese variant. As we have seen, Toyota had an official agreement with Jinbei for the manufacturing of the fourth generation HiAce. This car was called the Jinbei Haise (Sea Lion). As was common in China, Jinbei then sub-licensed the design to other Chinese automakers, including to Hangtian. The GHT6480 was based in the first generation Jinbei Haise (Haise 1). It was a fine looking car with brown striping on the sides and a largely closed grille.

GHT1031 truck – Isuzu NHR

Hengtian also made cars with Isuzu. The GHT1031 was based on the fourth-generation Isuzu NHR, which was made from 1984 until 1993. In the 1980’s, Isuzu made all sorts of deals with dozens of Chinese automakers, building everything from pickup trucks to heavy trucks. Even today, some of these Isuzu’s live on in many Chinese vehicles. On an early Hengtian factory image, the truck was branded Isuzu, but later variants were Hangtian branded.

A very cool blue car, again a factory photo, with a large Hangtian badge on the grille. Below that an Isuzu badge. On the left sode NHR and GHT1031. Power came from an Isuzu 2.8 liter diesel engine with an output of 87 hp.

New Versions & New Logo

Hengtian said goodbye to the Toyoace and HiAce design with an update for the whole lineup. Design of the trucks and vans became more streamlines, and the designations were updated too. The short-cab light truck was designated GHT1032HD, the double-cab light truck got GHT1032E/H and GHT1041, the van became GHT6940B and GHT6491. Main engine for the was the Toyota 4Y motor. There was a new mid-sized truck designated GHT1050, which was still based on the Isuzu NKR.

The logo was updated too, with a simpler shaped missile and a single G. It looks very manly.

GHT1050

Factory photo of the GHT1050 double cab truck with the characters Hangtian Auto on the bonnet. There is a ‘2000’ sticker on the door, which likely refers to Isuzu’s 2.0 liter diesel engine.

GHT1032HD

A GHT1032 dual cab with a very short bed.

GHT1032E

The single-cab version with a long bed.

GHT6490B/6491

Erik also saw the GHT6490B on the road, this one seemingly brand new with Beijing license plates. It is a very good looking van, with wide wheels and black window frames.

Factory photo.

Ambulance version. Sadly I don’t know the designation.

Update

The first and final update of this series saw a name change: The light truck was called Aerovan and the van was called Spacevan. The update came with new wheels and new factory decals in the sides. I haven’t been able to find any live-pics of these two so I guess they weren’t made for very long.

GHT6460/6491

Meanwhile, Hangtian and Jibei continued their cooperation. The deal between Jinbei and Toyota had ended but Jinbei continued making the fourth-generation HiAce on its own, updating it regularly with new new design and engines. The Hangtian GHT6460 was based on the Jinbei Haise II.

The GHT6460 series then followed the Jinbei Haise series. This photo shows the next update, based on the Jinbei Haise III. Considering the many sources available on this update, it appears to have been the most popular Jinbei-based Hangtian.

Power came from the 2.0 liter Jinbei JM491Q-ME engine, which was based on the Toyota 4Y engine. Output was 103 hp and 177 Nm.

GHT6500/6501

The GHT6500 debuted in 2006. It was again based on the Jinbei Haise series, this time on the Haise V. There was a new badge, round with four colored roundels inside. From then on, the Hangtian-made Haise was also called the Jinbei Haise. Power came again from the Jinbei JM491Q-ME.

A brand new one on display at a car dealer. License plate reads: 航天金刚海狮, or Haitian Jinbei Haise. The could seat up to 12 people, driver included.

GHT6490

Finally, the last car I want you to see. The GHT6490 is obviously based on the GHT6500, but it has a different bumper, grille, and lights. And most notable, it has the Hangtian logo on the grille again.

After the late 2000’s things got silent at Hangtian. Some years later, the production license and designation were used for the Victory brand, which made a series of minivans and crossovers with a Cadillac front.

Hangtian Auto was also involved in the Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong (CCPDoG) scheme. I will discuss those cars in a separate post.

Many thanks to Erik for his own photos and the old newspaper scans!

Sources: CheVip, Oocheoo, Cheshi, Cheshi, JNesc, Zhka, Oocheoo, Jinbeichuzu, Wikipedia, AHL, old catalogues, old car books, and my archives.