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Suburban is Chevrolet's large SUV. It is the longest running nameplate in the automotive industry and has been on the market since 1935. Between 1935 and 1964, several other nameplates appeared and have been passed down to this day. All these models have one thing in common: they are regularly updated during their life cycle, and today's version has no resemblance to its predecessor decades ago. However, the Beijing Jeep BJ212 has hardly changed since its debut in 1964. It is the oldest car on the market today.

The early history of Beijing's automobile industry in the Chinese capital is closely related to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The armed part of the Communist Party won the civil war in 1949 and was responsible for many of China's early industries, including Beijing's automobile industry. In 1951, the Chinese People's Liberation Army placed the former Kuomintang No. 409 Auto Repair Factory and the two Beijing workshops of Beijing Motors under its direct control. The combined plant is called the Sixth Automobile Manufacturing Company of the People's Liberation Army, which is responsible for repairing and manufacturing military vehicles.

The 409th repair shop got some Zundapp KS500 twin-cylinder motorcycles, copied the design and started producing them as Jinggangshan motorcycles. This is the beginning of the Beijing automobile industry. Jinggangshan is mainly used for military purposes, but there are also reports that it is also one of the few motor vehicles available for public use. In 1953, the 409 factory was renamed Beijing Motorcycle Factory.

At the same time, the Beijing repair shop was renamed the First Auto Parts Factory. It is engaged in the manufacture of auto parts, such as carburetors, spare parts and small sheet metal parts. However, this was the beginning of the "Great Leap Forward", when Mao Zedong reformed China's agricultural economy into a modern industrialized economy. As a contribution to this event, the first auto parts factory began to develop cars. It follows the example of its sister factory: converting a German donated car into the Chinese market. Jinggangshan motorcycle is a direct copy of Zundapp, and the accessories factory is more creative. They copied the base and engine of the Volkswagen Beetle, but placed a self-designed two-door sedan body on top.

This car, also called Jinggangshan, was shown to the public in June 1958. Mao Zedong came to inspect the car himself, and some tractors built a Beijing factory. For this reason, the first parts factory was renamed Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant (BAW). In October of the same year, the first mass production car was ready. Big surprise, there are four doors in the body. BAW intends to increase production to 10,000 vehicles per year in the next few years, but ultimately no results. The results of the "Great Leap Forward" were disastrous, stifling the economy and causing famine throughout the country. According to Erik van Ingen Schenau's book "Cars and 4×4 in Beijing and Tianjin", Jinggangshan only assembled 154 vehicles between 1958 and 1960.

Jinggangshan is a small "people's car", but in 1958 BAW also showed another car. The CB4 is a large sedan that rivals FAW Hongqi. The design is inspired by the American Buick, which is equipped with a V8 engine and a two-speed automatic transmission. Six cars were produced in 1958, including a convertible. In 1959, the design of the 6-meter-long luxury sedan was slightly updated, until about 20 more were produced in 1962.

BAW produces a full range of cars because they showed the Dongfanghong BJ760 in 1960. This is a medium-sized sedan similar in size and design to the Shanghai-made Phoenix SH760. Like many Chinese cars of that era, it is based on Russian technology GAZ Volga M21. The engine is the same Volga 2,4-liter four-cylinder engine, which will power later off-road vehicles. Dongfanghong was in production throughout the 1960s, but this did not make it a huge success. Again according to Van Ingen Schenau, the total production in ten years was 238 vehicles.

Due to China's weak advancement in passenger car production, the central government decided to intervene. Developed clear guidelines. FAW will provide party cars under the Hongqi brand, Shanghai will manufacture cars for middle managers, and Beijing will focus on military vehicles. In April 1963, the production line of the Changjiang 46 off-road vehicle that we encountered in the story of Chang'an was moved from Chongqing to Beijing. From then on, the car was called Beijing BJ210 until the production line was relocated again in 1965. This time I went to nearby Tianjin, where BJ210 was used as Tianjin TJ210 until 1978.

GAZ 69 is a light off-road truck developed in the early 1950s. It was the blueprint for many Russian and Chinese trucks at the time, and it was also the starting point for BJ212. BJ212 was developed in 1963/64 and mass production started in 1966. BAW may be helped by Russian engineers from UAZ, who are developing similar vehicles. The production of UAZ 469 began in 1971, and like BJ212, derivatives of the original design are still being manufactured.

Therefore, BJ212 is a few years earlier than its Russian brother, but the design is very similar. This is a basic, sturdy off-road vehicle with two or four doors, a canvas top, rigid leaf spring axle, four-wheel drive and a 75-horsepower 2.4-liter gasoline engine. Many variants appeared soon after. Versions with detachable hard tops, station wagons, pickup trucks, and longer wheelbases were all manufactured, adding the same number of military varieties. Personnel carriers, command vehicles, and vehicles with artillery are all deployed to the People's Liberation Army.

At the same time that BJ212 was put into production, the Beijing Second Automobile Plant was established. This new plant developed the light commercial truck BJ130. Small-scale trial production started in 1968 and mass production in the early 1970s. BJ212 and BJ130 are the two most important cars in Chinese history. Both trucks are made by many local manufacturers in a wide variety. And their chassis can be used in a wider range. In the Great Wall story, we have seen that the Nissan Cedric one-piece body is very suitable for the BJ212 trapezoidal chassis.

Due to the huge lineup, the production and sales of BJ212 went all the way in the 1960s and 1970s. It even gives BAW the opportunity to build another passenger car. BJ750 is quite a Japanese car, basically the successor of Dongfanghong. Likewise, the sales figures are insignificant. More than one hundred BJ750s were produced between 1973 and 1981. At that time, BJ212 needs to be overhauled in the engine department. Tried to use Perkins diesel engines, but BAW then set its sights on higher prices.

In the 1960s and 1970s, China experienced Mao Zedong’s second major movement, the "Cultural Revolution." The intention was to eradicate all revisionist and capitalist ideas, but it turned into a bloody political power struggle. Only after Mao's death in 1976, when more moderate forces came to power, could society have room for change. One of the new policies is to limit the influence of the People's Liberation Army.

Beijing took the lead, and BAW was handed over to the local government in 1973. The government established a holding company for this purpose, the Beijing (Municipal) Automobile Industry Corporation. This holding company has changed its name many times over the years, but I call it BAIC Group. The holding company controls various related industries such as Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Beijing Automobile No. 2 Plant, and Beijing Motorcycle Factory.

Do not think that BAIC Group is a "Western-style" holding company with a board of directors that directly manages various subsidiaries. It is more like a state-run cooperative, responsible for allocating funds and materials and working to increase productivity. It has no enforcement power over its subsidiaries, no management, and no direct involvement in the daily operations of several factories.

In the early 1980s, Chinese leaders believed that it was necessary to completely modernize the industry. The automotive industry is one of the pioneers in this area and instructs manufacturers to seek connections with international companies. Chinese companies do not allow foreign ownership, so joint ventures (where the Chinese side maintains control) are the appropriate form.

BAW is the first Chinese manufacturer to successfully seduce foreign parties. In their case, it is the American Motor Company and then the owner of the Jeep brand. In May 1983, a contract was signed to establish Beijing Jeep Co., Ltd. BAW owns 69% of the majority stake, and AMC owns the remaining 31%. The Americans must provide technology and funds, and the Chinese provide facilities. As a result, a large part of BAW's assets were transferred to Beijing Jeep.

After the establishment of Beijing Jeep, the production of BJ212 was split between the joint venture and BAW. Beijing Jeep produced most of the BJ212 models, and BAW only kept the cheap entry-level models and pickup trucks. In addition to BJ212, Beijing Jeep will also bring Cherokee to the Chinese market. Its four-cylinder engine was eventually also suitable for BJ212, although it did not appear until the end of the 1990s.

BAW became a small company due to its limited product line, so it merged with Beijing Motorcycle in 1987. This short-lived company was named after the Beijing Automobile and Motorcycle Co-manufacturing Plant. The company’s engineer Yao Changsheng quit his job in 1994 and established the Beijing Automobile Assembly Plant. Initially, Yao's factory was a component supplier of BAIC Group, but it was later upgraded to complete vehicle assembly.

In 2001, BAW was established as a real company with a board of directors and shareholders. Yao Changcheng acquires 67% of the shares, and BAIC Group retains the other third. The company name was changed to Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd., but everyone has always called it BAW. Under Yao's command, BAW finally began to develop more modern cars. In the early 2000s, a series of fairly versatile SUVs (Roadmaster, 007) and pickup trucks (Yueling, Ruiling) were launched. BAW also produces some light trucks.

In 2008, BAIC regained control of the BAIC Group by acquiring an 18% stake in Yao Ming. Due to the change in control of the Beijing Jeep (we will report this story next week), BJ212 also went home. Beijing Jeep also developed a successor to the BJ212 for the military. BAW took over the production of this military vehicle called Yongshi (English: Warrior) and released a commercial version many years later. BAIC Group continues to expand its product portfolio, but although BJ212 seems to exist forever, more modern SUVs are gradually being eliminated. The Yueling pickup survived. BAIC Group also used the iconic BJ name to launch a series of modern off-road vehicles under its own brand name.

Then at the end of 2016, BAIC Group completely disposed of BAIC. Remember, BAW is one of the pillars on which BAIC Group relies. However, the group sold almost all of its shares to Yao Changsheng (87.5%) and a small amount of shares to a company called Shanghai Qinyong New Energy Development Company (I have no further data). From a military and state-owned automobile manufacturer, BAW has now become a private enterprise.

Yao started the largest technological development of BJ212 to date. Independent BAW designed an independent front suspension and coil spring for its ancient off-road vehicle. A new suspension appeared on the new car in 2019, which is truly the first overhaul of the BJ212. The version with the old rigid suspension is still sold with the upgraded version.

At that time BAW changed hands again. In May 2018, the new company Qingdao Beijing Automobile Plant was established. Not BAW itself, but Qingdao Fulu Investment Holdings. The holding company is the strategic investment arm of Shandong Fulu Automobile Group, a low-speed electric vehicle manufacturer under Lu Fujun. This is the familiar part of these car manufacturers' stories: low-speed electric car manufacturers are looking for ways to become car manufacturers. Flow is a large low-speed electric vehicle company that sells automobile brands such as Flow, Jindalu and Baowa.

A few weeks after its establishment, BAW Qingdao acquired 51% of the original BAW shares. Yao Changsheng holds 40% and the remaining 9% belongs to Shanghai Qinlong Development. Although the Beijing Automobile Assembly Plant is still the main production base, BAIC has broken ground on its new production base in Laixi City, Qingdao (Shandong Province), and plans to move its headquarters there. At the same time, BAW Texas Branch (also in Shandong Province) announced that the plant will start production in October 2019. In Texas, kittens and big cats (kitten and big cat) are assembled, two electric mini-cars based on Flow LSEV.

After all the turbulence, BJ212 is still strong. It uses a brand-new suspension, a modern Mitsubishi engine, and complies with the latest environmental regulations. It is still the most well-known car on the roads of China. BJ212 makes BAIC Group a major car company. Now let's see if Flow Automobile Group can also do this.

This is the first part of a series of articles about BAW and BAIC Group. Next week we will take a look at BAIC's self-developed cars and its international joint ventures.

Every week we publish an existing article on the history of a well-known Chinese car manufacturer. Check what you haven’t read yet.

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