Jiefang products: from success to greater success

From the 4-ton loading CA10 to the high quality, high performance, high-end heavy-duty platform, China's indigenous truck brand Jiefang has undergone a 55-year development process.

During the development process of producing six generations of Jiefang, the research and development (R&D) ability of Jiefang also advanced in leaps and bounds, from being initially dependent on assistance from the former Soviet Union, to the strong R&D ability to autonomously develop an advanced international standard truck.

1st generation Jiefang products: The 1st Jiefang truck CA10 4-ton loading truck rolled off the assembly line on July 13, 1956, symbolizing the first steady step taken by the Chinese auto industry, and putting an end to the nation's lack of automobile manufacturing ability.

Planning economics has helped the "old Jiefang" to remain in production for 30 years, from the CA10 to the CA15 series. The total number of units produced during this period was 1,281,502.

2nd generation products: On July 15, 1986, the 2nd generation Jiefang truck CA141 was produced by "uprightness" model change. Thus, FAW finished secondary initiation. The saga of single series products being manufactured for 30 years was over, and the Chinese auto industry was taken to a brand new developmental stage.

3rd generation products: In May 1995 the 3rd generation J3 Jiefang COE diesel truck CA150PL2 truck was launched. The epoch-making event marked the end of the 40-year history of only producing cab-behind engine (CBE) trucks. The obvious features of the 3rd generation truck, which differentiated it from the 1st and 2nd generation, was the cab-over engine (COE) and diesel truck. This was the most important adjustment in terms of future export strategy.

Jiefang J4 series : At the end of the 1990s, Jiefang launched the heavy-duty 9-ton COE CA1170P2K1L2 and 16-ton COE CA1260P2K1T1L2 diesel series trucks.

The cab of Jiefang 9-ton COE was introduced from Mitsubishi, Japan and tonnage was increased from 5 to 9 tons. FAW products had entered the quasi heavy-duty range and Jiefang had changed from a single medium-duty truck producing enterprise to a heavy-duty truck manufacturer. With the launch of the 16-ton COE diesel truck, the Jiefang brand could claim full development of medium and heavy-duty products.

Jiefang J5 series: On July 15, 2004, the 5th generation product- "Aowei heavy-duty truck"- was launched, enabling Jiefang to enter the heavy-duty market at a high starting point.

The launch of the Jiefang Aowei was followed by the successive launches of the self-developed Jiefang Hanwei, Dawei and Junwei. The products structure of Jiefang medium and heavy-duty trucks was adjusted to create three product platforms - low-end, medium-end and high-end.

The Jiefang J5 series vehicles were the main force that helped Jiefang exploit the market and were trendsetters among Chinese commercial vehicles.

Jiefang J6 series: In May 2001, the development of a new generation Jiefang truck began. In order to successfully compete in the commercial vehicles sector in the future, Jiefang J6 was targeted at the domestic high-end market and incorporated European advanced truck technologies to compete with imported trucks, as well as realize the strategic plan of eventually exporting to the European market. Meanwhile, keeping the domestic low and middle-end market in mind, they are expected to be the new-generation leading products of FAW and gradually substitute trucks currently under production, a process likely to be complete in 2010.

(China Daily 11/06/2007 page18)