Why was the Jinbei 750 discontinued?

[LeJohnny]

Jinbei 750 was discontinued mainly because the sales volume of this model was too low. For the manufacturer, continuing production would result in financial losses, hence the decision to discontinue it. More details are as follows: 1. Dimensions: The Jinbei 750 measures 4005×1725×1644mm in length, width, and height. 2. Development history: The predecessor of Huachen Jinbei Automobile Co., Ltd. was Shenyang Jinbei Passenger Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which was officially renamed in January 2003. It is a key production enterprise under Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited. Shenyang Jinbei Passenger Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established by Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited and Shenyang Jinbei Automobile Co., Ltd., founded on July 22, 1991.

[ElizaLynn]

I've looked into the discontinuation of the Jinbei 750 for a while. This vehicle was initially marketed as a 'family multi-purpose vehicle', but its actual positioning was quite awkward – commercial customers found it less cargo-capable than the old Hiace, while family users disliked its basic features. Between 2014 and 2017, the market changed too rapidly, with the Wuling Hongguang S completely dominating all models in the same price range. While the Hongguang S was selling 50,000 units monthly, the Jinbei 750 was still struggling with its sales. Additionally, the entire Brilliance Group was facing financial constraints at the time, making it difficult to adjust production lines. Last year, some dealers even mentioned that maintenance parts took half a month to arrive, which certainly hurt its reputation. Now, seeing its electric version performing decently in the logistics sector, discontinuing the traditional fuel model seems like a timely damage control move.

[McLucy]

The veteran mechanic at the factory said the Jinbei 750 has inherent design flaws. Its 1.5L engine still uses decade-old technology, resulting in high fuel consumption and weak power output—it couldn't meet the China VI emission standards when implemented. There are also issues with sheet metal craftsmanship, with door hinge areas commonly rusting after about two years, and rear axle noise becoming a widespread problem. The electronic systems are even more troublesome, with the ABS module frequently throwing errors, and replacement parts costing 30% more than comparable vehicles. These issues caused its resale value to plummet, to the point where used car dealers refuse to take them in. Rather than investing to upgrade the production line, the manufacturer decided to discontinue this model entirely and shift focus to new energy minivans.

[DiLucia]

Policy impacts were quite critical. I remember in July 2019 when the nationwide switch to China VI emissions standards occurred, the entire Jinbei 750 lineup only met China V standards. At that time, Brilliance was busy dealing with a debt crisis and simply lacked funding for new engine development. Around the same period, regulations requiring 7-seaters to be equipped with ESP came into effect, with retrofitting costs on old platforms exceeding 2,000 RMB per unit. After running the numbers, manufacturers realized they'd lose money on every vehicle sold. Add to that the pressure from new energy credit policies, and traditional fuel vehicles became increasingly difficult to sustain. Actually, look at how Dongfeng Fengguang 580 promptly switched to a 1.5T engine - it's still surviving in the market today. Jinbei really missed the boat this time, what a shame.

[LeilaniDella]

The market positioning was a major issue! Initially, it aimed to compete with the Wuling Hongguang, but it fell short by 200 kg in cargo capacity. Then it tried to emulate the Baojun 730 for family use, yet the second-row seats didn't even have fore-and-aft adjustment. The most fatal blow came in 2016 when the SUV market exploded—consumers could buy a compact SUV for just 70,000 yuan, while the Jinbei 750's interior was still all hard plastic. Some owners complained about severe cabin resonance at speeds over 100 km/h on highways, with NVH levels stuck in the micro-truck era. Later, even with dealers offering 30,000 yuan discounts, few showed interest. The unsold inventory was eventually disposed of as work vehicles—no wonder this model was discontinued.

[DeNadia]

Just look at Huaxinyuan's strategic adjustment and it becomes clear. Last year, they converted their Chongqing factory into a dedicated NEV commercial vehicle base, handing over the Jinbei 750 production line to the Haisi EV. Look how aggressive the subsidies are for electric logistics vehicles—Shenzhen alone replaced 8,000 fuel-powered logistics vehicles with electric ones last year. In contrast, the fuel-powered multi-purpose vehicle market has been shrinking year after year, dropping 23% YoY in 2018. The company's financial reports show that the Jinbei 750 single model had a gross margin of less than 5%, while the new Haisi van produced at the same factory reached 18%. Six months before the production halt announcement, the four-cylinder engine production line had already been repurposed for Brilliance Renault—clearly, resources were being shifted toward more profitable segments.