Published : 13/07/2024

On July 13, 1956, the first car made in China was successfully tested and produced at the First Automobile Works (第一汽車製造廠) in Changchun.

The First Automobile Works (FAW) in Changchun is China's first heavy-duty car factory, built with Soviet’s aid and listed as a key project in the first Five-Year Plan.

The first batch of 12 domestically-produced trucks was under the brand "Jiefang" (解放), which was named by Mao Zedong and means "liberation" in Chinese.

The first batch was based on the Soviet ZIS-150 model, with some structures improved according to China's actual situation.

Equipped with a 90 horsepower six-cylinder petrol engine, this type of truck had a top speed of 65 kilometres per hour and a load capacity of 4 tonnes.

It was not only suitable for the road and bridge load conditions in China at that time, but could also be adapted to a variety of specialised uses as required.

The first batch of trucks also participated in the 1956 National Day military parade.