A brief history of Red Star Automotive

This article will be a first in a series of articles documenting the automotive history of the city of Xingtai in Hebei province. I recently travelled to Xingtai for a second time. I spent the day with a media friend I had met through Weibo after my last visit in 2017. He was kind enough to offer to take me around Xingtai to see some of the car factories that were once part of Xingtai’s industrial output. Upon arrival in Xingtai he told me we were off to a car factory that was very much still alive and well. That car factory is operated by Hongxing – aka Red Star.

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The amazing story of Paul Berliet and China.

Paul Berliet (1918-2012)

Paul Berliet was the first Western automotive entrepreneur who was involved in the Communist China automotive industry, already in 1965. He developed a great love for China and he was much appreciated by Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. His ‘Licence Chine’ had a very strong influence on the heavy truck industry in China. It helped China to develop her own truck industry, independently of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

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Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Tianye Auto

Tianye BQ123
Tianye BQ123

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF): Tianye Auto, a brand owned by the Baoding Automobile Factory. They were based in the great city of Baoding in Hebei Province. In the 1980’s and 1990’s they made a series of great looking pickup trucks and SUVs. Continue reading “Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Tianye Auto”

Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot: Wuhan Light Automobile Factory

Wuhan WH120
Wuhan WH120

Today in Chinese Car Brands That Time Forgot (CCBTTF): Wuhan Light Automobile Factory, based in the great city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. The company that made a series of pickup trucks and SUVs in in 1980’s and early 1990’s.

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Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong: Sanjiu Auto

Sanjiu Auto Honda Odyssey

Today in Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong (CCPDoG):Sanjiu Auto. This company made at least five cars under the infamous Guangdong scheme in the 1990’s. Read all the details about it here.

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The mystery of the missing CA70

One of the intriguing mysteries of China’s car history is the missing CA70.

Dongfeng clay model, ‘1*04954’

In the mid-1950s First Auto Works (FAW) started truck production and the development of a complete automobile production program. The first products were the CA10 truck, a CA30 cross-country truck, a CA40 dumper truck, a CA50 truck tractor, a CA80 agricultural truck.
And a CA71 car. The CA71 car is the Dongfeng which is beautifully described by my colleague Tycho in a recent article. Soon followed by the bigger Hongqi CA72.
That gives a mystery, as which car was the CA70?

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Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong: Guangdong Passenger Car Factory – Gaodeng

Guangdong Passenger Car Factory
Guangdong Passenger Car Factory – Honda Odyssey

Today in Crazy Car Production Days of Guangdong (CCPDoG): Guangdong Passenger Car Factory, a company based in the great city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.

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The First Auto Works Dongfeng CA71 Was China’s First Car

Dongfeng CA72
Dongfeng CA71

This beautiful red sedan is First Auto Works Dongfeng CA71, officially known as ‘China’s first car’. It was born in 1958 on the special request of Mao Zedong, who demanded a Chinese state limousine. I met it at the Beijing Classic Car Museum to the far north of the capital.

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