Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Tianma Auto – Part 1

Intro

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF™): Tianma Auto, a brand owned by the No. 9506 Factory of the People’s Liberation Army of China. The No. 9506 was an air force-owned vehicle-refit factory. It was one of many army-related companies that moved into the car market in the 1990s. To keep this article and my time in check, I have divided it into two parts: 1) until the 1990s and 2) the 2000s.

The Tianma brand was founded in 1987. The Chinese name is 天马, Tiānmǎ, literally ‘Pegasus’.  The English name, however, was simply Tianma. The company was based in Baoding, the capital of Hebei Province.

The Tianma logo: TM in a circle. The designation was KZ.

Names, names, names.

Originally, Tianma was directly owned by the No. 9506 Factory of the People’s Liberation Army of China (中国人民解放军第9506工厂), which in turn was part of the PLA Air Force. After the decentralization of the military enterprise in the late 1990s, it was renamed Baoding Tianma Automobile Factory (保定天马汽车厂) in 1994. Eight years later, in 2002, it was renamed to Tianma Automobile Group (天马汽车集团).

The Boss

This is Wang Shanfa (王善发), the ‘Factory Director’ of the No. 9505 Factory. Wang is featured in most Tianma brochures. He looks like the real director deal, with shades and a cool haircut.

Here he is, sitting behind his desk, with two medals on his chest. This was long before computers became commonplace in China, so his desk only had paperwork, a tea bottle, and a lamp.

A fantastic brochure photo, showing Wang in uniform, chatting away with other “factory leaders” in civilian outfits. One even wears shorts!

The Factory

The factory looked pretty rough, but that was normal at the time. There is dirt, dust, darkness, and lots of half-built vehicles. These factories didn’t have automated assembly lines of any sort. The cars were mostly hand-built.

That’s Wang again, second from left.

The factory gate.

The office building & dorms.

The 1980s

The 1980s were short for Tianma, as the company was founded only in 1987. But that didn’t stop Tianma from launching a whole lot of models! Like many car makers at the time, Tianma shopped at BAW and other larger car makers for chassis and engines, shortening development times. We are seeing a similar situation right now, with dozens of new EV companies popping up in China, purchasing complete power trains from other companies. History repeats!

Tianma KZ 2030XH

The seven-seat KZ 2030XH was a long, wagon-like SUV. It is the first Tianma that we know about. It looked great, with a clean body, a bull bar, off-road tires, and shiny wheel covers.

Interestingly, according to Tianma, the KZ 2030XH was based on the chassis of the Wuhan WH213, a 4×4. However, the WH213 was closely related to the BAW BJ212. So either way, in the ned, it’s always BAW.

Tianma KZ 522

The Tianma KZ 522 was an interesting vehicle, launched in 1988. It had a partially raised roof, from the B-pillar onwards, with a windscreen. It was a seven-seat vehicle, based on the chassis of the BAW BJ222. The dimensions were: 4910/1840/1965.

Tianma KZ 513H

The Tianma KZ 513H was a shorter, five-seat SUV. It looked great, with roof rails and a bit of chrome around the rear-side window. It has another door sticker: the PLA star logo with ‘9506’ underneath. That’s proper branding! The characters on the left and right of the logo are 空军, Kōngjūn, Air Force.

Tianma KZ 6430X

One of the coolest Tianma cars is a 4×4 SUV-coupe hatchback, similar to the modern-day Rivian R3 and the Slate Fastback SUV. See? China has invented everything. It has typical PLA stickers on the doors, with a red star and gold colored wings.

The KZ 6430X debuted in 1987. It was based on a BAW BJ212 chassis. It appears to be the first Tianma car with square-shaped headlights.

The KZ 6430X is in the middle. On the right is a Tianma KZ 522.

Tianma KZ 522 – update

This one is also called the KZ 522. It appears to be an updated variant of the earlier car, now with square-shaped headlights.

Tianma KZ 6490X

The KZ 6490X arrived in the late 1980s. It has military license plates. K for Kōngjūn, Air Force. I am not sure if Tianma’s vehicles were ever used by the armed forces. It is sure possible. At the time, the PLA was way more decentralized than it is today. PLA units mostly sourced their equipment locally, and that included vehicles. Even in the early 2000s, it was possible to identify the origin of an army unit by just looking at the brand of its trucks!

The KZ 6490X looked great in light blue & white, with shiny wheels and a bull bar.

This is a different variant with a slightly raised roof. Note the mud flaps and the leaf spring rear suspension.

It was available with a rear-seat entertainment system: a television with a VHS player. That must have been super rare in China in the 1980s. It also had air conditioning. The dash looks pretty good, with two pods for the duals and a large-diameter two-spoke steering wheel with a thin rim.

Tianma KZ 513

The KZ 513 was another wagon-like SUV. It seems larger than the KZ 6490X. Also, the design of the C-pillar is much more slanted. The paint job is a beauty, with beige, orange, and creamy white. It seems more civilian-focused than the earlier Tianma cars.

Tianma KZ 523H sedan

Tianma made at least one sedan in the 1980s. The KZ 523H was based on the KZ 513. It was a super classy machine with lots of chrome and yellow fog lights on the bumper. It was still based on a 4×4 chassis, so it had an oddly high ground clearance for a sedan. It is similar in concept to later cars as the Subaru Outback Sedan and the Volvo S60 Cross Country.

A red one!

Tianma KZ 1030KH

The KZ 1030KH was a fancy double-cab pickup truck. The stickers are ultra cool: ‘9506’ on the doors and ‘Tianma’ on the bed. It is the only Tianma with the side mirrors on the front fenders.

Tianma KZ 6491X

A beautiful photo taken in front of the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing. The centre still exists, I have been there dozens of times, and in the 1990s it was one of the few places where foreigners could look at and buy China-made products. The KZ 6491X has double headlights, a high roof, and pretty bright orange decals.

Tianma KZ 523H dual-cab pickup truck

As far as we know, this is the final Tianma pickup truck from the 1980s. The car in the photo participated in a cross-China rally event. It is painted bright orange, with sponsor stickers, cool white-wall tires, and red wheel covers.

The 1990s

The 1980s and early 1990s are well-documented, with dozens of catalogs and brochures. Many of these were published by government departments or by government-owned publishing companies. But the late 1990s are a dark spot in time, making life difficult for automotive historians. There were no new major catalogs or books. This was likely caused by the central state stepping away from regulating everything: the end of the planned economy. However, in the late-late 1990s, some privately-funded automotive magazines started to appear, which is why we have at least some material from that time.

Tianma KZ 2030

The KZ 2030 is mentioned in one Tianma brochure. It looks like a Mercedes-Benz sedan, but it is a pickup truck, with folks standing in the bed. It seems to be at a parade of some sort. Tianma wasn’t the only company inspired by Mercedes-Benz. Another famous example is Bamin.

Tianma KZ 1020SY

The KZ 1020SY was a modern dual-cab pickup truck. The dark blue car in the photos has ‘天马‘ branding on the bed. It also has an impressive rack at the bed, and a shipload of shiny chrome.

Tianma KZ5493

The KZ493 was a wagon. It had an interesting air duct on the roof, above the windshield. I love the chromed mirrors, door handles, and especially the mud flaps.

Unknown

From the same period, it seems, but I don’t have any designation. It appears to be another sedan-style pickup truck with a high ground clearance.

Tianma KZ 5031X

Now, we are entering the late 1990s, the period I mentioned earlier. I don’t have many photos from this time in Tianma’s history. The KZ 5031X is quite typical for the late 1990s, with a more rounded design and a lower nose section. The car in the photos is likely a government service vehicle.

A company-supplied sticker! It shows the same car, in red. Characters in white: 空军, Air Force. Below that: 天马汽车厂, Tianma Automobile Factory.

Unknown

This one looks modern for a Tianma, with high mirror stalks, sporty wheels,  and a two-piece grille. Sadly, we don’t know anything more about it.

Tianma KZ 5011

The KZ5011 is the first Tianma MPV. It seems small, and it was likely based on a Xiali chassis. It has fancy five-spoke sporty alloy wheels.

The 1990s minicars

In the 1990s and 2000s. Tianma also produced a series of minicars. My great friend Erik saw some of these machines on the road. We know of the KZ6400 (left) and the KZ1020S (right). The latter seems a 2000s car, si I will discuss it later.

Tianma KZ 6400

The KZ 6400 was a basic sedan. Erik saw this pretty red taxi variant in the late 1990s in Shaanxi Province. It looks very similar to the vehicle in the brochure, bar for the grille, which seems shinier, with a tad of gray and chrome. The side mirror looks a little sad, and it has cool steel wheels.

This is the end of Part 1. Thank you for reading! In the next part of this mini-series, I will discuss Tianma in the 2000s, which will be a lot of work because in the 2000s, Tianma launched a lot of new cars. But that’s okay, the more cars the better! See you soon.