FAW Tianjin is an
automobile manufacturer in
China. There are two different entities under Tianjin Xiali. One is a fully subsidiary division of
First Automobile Works known as
Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co. Ltd, while a joint venture between
Toyota and
First Automobile Works in 2000 known as
Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co. Ltd.
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 (夏利) 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 and A+ 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, another subsidiary of
First Automobile Works (Tianjin Huali Motor Company) had manufactured
Hijet-based Daihatsu mini trucks in China rebranded as
Huali Dafa. Currently Huali offers the first generation
Daihatsu Terios and first 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...
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