What was the brand of China's first domestically produced automobiles?
2 Answers
China's first domestically produced automobiles were the Jiefang CA10 heavy-duty trucks. The models and maximum speed of Jiefang brand vehicles are as follows: Jiefang brand vehicle models: The Jiefang truck, successfully trial-produced by the First Automobile Works, was a versatile medium-duty truck with a load capacity of four tons. This vehicle was well-suited to China's road and bridge load conditions at that time. When driven on flat roads, it could tow one or two trailers, effectively doubling its load capacity. Maximum speed of Jiefang vehicles: The truck was equipped with a 90-horsepower, six-cylinder gasoline engine. Its maximum speed reached 65 kilometers per hour, while the fuel-efficient cruising speed when fully loaded was between 30 to 35 kilometers per hour.
I remember learning about this period of history, where the beginning of our domestic automobile industry was in the early days of the founding of New China. The first car truly made by us Chinese was the Jiefang truck, which rolled off the production line in 1956. At that time, the First Automobile Works in Changchun had just been established, and the entire project received technical support from the Soviet Union. The word 'Jiefang' (Liberation) on the front of the truck symbolized the nation's ambition to break free from dependence on imports. The conditions were incredibly tough back then—simple factory buildings, scarce equipment—but the workers managed to assemble the vehicle through sheer manual labor. Later, in 1958, the Hongqi sedan was produced, instantly becoming the exclusive vehicle for national leaders. Although these old machines may seem technologically simple by today's standards, they genuinely laid the foundation for China's automotive industry. Every time I see them in museums, I can feel the spirit of struggle from those days.
