The Renault Express from Taiwan made on the Mainland.

In 2001 the Beijing Municipality Pinggu County Wangxinzhuang Town Economic Union Corporation was looking for a foreign partner, to produce cars. The choice was the Taiwanese version of the French Renault Express.

Plan for a made in China Honglong Break 2001, Pinggu Company information.

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More about the Hawtai SDH7150M-D/ SDH7160M B5 Meijia (美佳).

Thanks to our reader 3Star4WD and my dear friend Tycho I can tell you more about the five-seater small mpv Hyundai Matrix (not) made by Hawtai (Huatai).

Hawtai B5 Meijia 1.5. Photo Internet. Three visible Matrix, a Volkswagen. Between the VW and the third Matrix is another Matrix, invisible. 

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Questions, questions, questions (3) About Unknown Chinese Cars

Two times before, in 2018 and 2020, I showed you pictures of vehicles of which we wanted more information. Here are some new ‘questions’ about unknown Chinese cars.  In 2018 I wrote: “But each answer leads to a new question. ” That is the fate of the researcher…

Great Wall ‘Xiali’
Baoding Great Wall prototype, Xiali clone. Photo Kongfz.com.

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Globe B.V., European import of the Beijing BJ212 in the late 1980s.

After arrival in the Netherlands, the jeeps were stored. Photo copyright Erik van Ingen Schenau, 1987.

In my last article I promised you to write more about the Dutch Globe B.V. initiative.

It was a brave Dutchman, Peter de Koster, who bought about 6 BJ212s when making a sales trip to Beijing in 1987. He started a company named Globe B.V., established in Loon op Zand in the south of the Netherlands, where he was a local Chrysler, Jeep and Mercedes dealer. Later De Koster imported more BJ212s.

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Export of the Beijing BJ212 in the 1970s and 1980s.

BJ212 in France, photo Auto-Journal, 15-12-1976

The first 4×4’s used in the People’s Republic China were of Russian origin. After the GAZ 67 followed the GAZ 69.

GAZ 69, Hunan Province.

When it was time for a replacement, the Soviet Union and China worked together to design a successor; the Soviet Union got the UAZ 469, China the Beijing BJ212.

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So many sedans made by the Jiaozhuo Bus Works.

After my article about the Whale JZK1010S last week, we received a lot of comments. (Super! Continue sending!) Some were about the different versions of the Changjian sedan made in Meng county, Henan province.

Changjian JZK6420, photo copyright Erik van Ingen Schenau, Xi’an 1991. Registration Shaanxi 01 T3177.

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A case of double identity: the Whale JZK1010S.

During my studies of all the small cars of the 1990’s, those made outside the regular car producing industry, I encountered this car on the web: the Whale JZK1010S.

On the rear. Left: whale, right: JZK1010S.  Photo internet. The damage is a pity… Registration: ‘Zhejiang 06 A1455’.

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The Geely GE was a Chinese Rolls Royce with a single rear seat.

One of the most desirable cars is the Rolls-Royce. It is not strange that over the years many copies, look-a-likes, or Rolls-Royce-inspired cars, appeared in China.

Geely GE, Shanghai Auto Show April 2009.

At the Shanghai Show of 2009, Geely introduced a whole range of concept cars, small and big. They were designed by Nova Design of Taiwan.

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The Hongqi HQD was a state-limousine that was too wild for China.

At the end of the 1990’s it was clear that the Chinese state limousine, the Hongqi CA770, designed in 1965, was old fashioned and needed replacement. A last revival was the Jiang Zemin version of 1999, called the “9910 Model”. In fact, five old CA772 armoured cars were rebuilt to make a last appearance during the celebrations of the 50 years existence of the People’s Republic.

Time for new blood.

FAW Hongqi HQD, design Chang Bing, 2004.

This is a drawing of the Hongqi HQD concept. The drawing is made by the designer Chang Bing. 

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