Tianjin FAW (officially Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co., Ltd.) is an automobile company based in Tianjin, China and a subsidiary of FAW Group. Its principal activity is the design, development, manufacture and distribution of automobiiles sold under the Xiali and Vita marques. It is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Tianjin FAW was founded in 1965 and was originally considered one of the "three smalls" of the Chinese automotive industry, together with Guangzhou Honda and Beijing. Tianjin FAW moved into third place in the Chinese market in 1997. By 2000 they were in second place, in spite of the low quality of their products. Tianjin FAW has since lost market share to several new Chinese automobile manufacturers.
Tianjin FAW operates a joint venture with Toyota, Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., which produces Toyota passenger cars for the Chinese market including the Corolla, Crown, Reiz and Vios.
Video Tianjin FAW
History
Tianjin FAW's first product, debuting in 1965, was a copy of the famous Beijing Jeep called the Tianjin TJ210. Between 1973 and 1979 the Toyota look-alike Tianjin TJ740 was also built, although only 63 were finished.
In the 1980s, Tianjin's directors decided to look abroad for a joint venture to enable them to build modern small cars. In 1983, Daihatsu had been chosen as a partner, and in November 1984 the first vehicle rolled out from the works. At first, local parts content was a mere 8%, but this had jumped to 85% by the end of 1987. The first product was a locally built Daihatsu Hijet in 1984, followed by the Charade which began local assembly in 1986.
Production began at a modest level, with 2873 automobiles (Charade) and 9329 minivans (Hijet) assembled in 1988, for a total of 12,202 vehicles. This increased rapidly, to an annual total of nearly 88,000 cars by 1996.
Before the Toyota joint venture, Tianjin produced the Tianjin Xiali TJ730 (based on the 1983 Daihatsu Charade) and then the TJ7100-TJ7131 hatchback and TJ7100U-TJ7131U sedan. Xiali (??) is Chinese for "Charade". The TJ7100-series cars, based on the 1987 Charade, are still very popular in China as taxicabs although they are gradually being replaced by larger Volkswagen and Hyundai cars. Nonetheless, production of the Daihatsu-based Xiali N3 series continue today. Production at the Tianjin Xiali plant has now shifted to more modern Toyota vehicles, for example the Xiali 2000 is based on the Toyota Platz/Vitz. Toyota also builds and sells vehicles in China under its own brand.
Since 1984, Tianjin FAW has manufactured Hijet-based Daihatsu mini trucks in China rebranded as Huali Dafa. Currently Huali offers the first generation Daihatsu Terios and second generation Daihatsu Move.
FAW Tianjin also produces the Miles ZX40, an electric version of the Daihatsu Move which became the first Chinese-built vehicle sold in the United States when it was offered in mid-2006 by Miles Automotive Group.
Maps Tianjin FAW
Models
Current
- 2006.07-present: Weizhi C1 (CA 7130 / 7140), an independent development also marketed as the FAW Vita
- 2013-present: Xiali N7, a Mini SUV
Past
- 1965: Tianjin TJ210 C, a Chinese copy of the Beijing Jeep
- 1973-1979: Tianjin TJ740, a Chinese copy of a Toyota sedan fitted with a 1.8 litre engine
- 1988-2000: Xiali TJ 7100, a hatchback based on the Daihatsu Charade 3rd Gen
- 1990.10-2000: Xiali TJ 7100 U, a sedan based on the Daihatsu Charade 3rd Gen
- 1997.12-1999: Xiali TJ 7100 A, a facelifted TJ 7100 hatchback
- 1997-1999: Xiali TJ 7100 AU, a facelifted TJ 7100 U sedan
- 1998-2000: Xiali TJ 7130 AU, the TJ7100 AU sedan with a 1.3-liter engine
- 1999-2006: Xiali TJ 7101, new name for the TJ 7100 A hatchback
- 1999-2006: Xiali TJ 7101 U, new name for the TJ 7100 AU sedan
- 1999-2006: Xiali TJ 7131L, a 1.3-litre version of the TJ 7101 L, also as 7130AL, 7131UL, 7130AUL, 'U' for sedan versions, 'A' for Junya/Shenya versions.
- 2000.12-2004.03: Xiali 2000 TJ 7136 U, a sedan based on the Toyota Platz
- 1999-2006: Xiali TJ 7101 L, a TJ 7101 hatchback lengthened by 8 cm (also as 7100AL, 7101UL, 7100AUL, 'U' for sedan versions, 'A' for facelift versions)
- 2001.10-2006: Xiali TJ 7131 U, a new name for the TJ7130 AU sedan
- 1999-2006: Xiali TJ 7131, the TJ 7101 hatchback with a 1.3-liter engine
- 2003.5-2011: Xiali A Shenya (Senior) (TJ 7101 AU-TJ 7141 AU)
- 2002.12-2012: Vizi CA 7106/CA 7136, a sister model of the Toyota Vitz
- 2004.03-2012: Vela CA 7156 U, a sister model of the Toyota Platz 2nd Gen
- 2004.08-2015: Xiali N3 (B series) TJ 7101 B-TJ 7131 BU, hatchbacks and sedans based on facelifted Xiali A series, with its origins in the Daihatsu Charade 3rd Gen. This car was available in Mexico known as the F1 and was sold from 2008 to 2010. The N3 was facelifted in 2008 and 2012.
- 2005.6-2011: Xiali A Junya (Junior) (TJ 7101 A-TJ 7141 A), a slightly facelifted version of the existing hatchback range, new bumpers and some new engine options. 1,425 cc version since June 2005. Facelifted in 2006, this and the Shenya are now known as the "A+"
- 2009-2015: Xiali N5, a sedan based on the Xiali N3
Gallery
References
External links
- Tianjin Xiali (in Chinese)
- Xiali Vela Homepage
- Xiali N3 homepage
- Toyota Official site (in Chinese)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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