How the Chinese Copied Soviet ZIS-150 and Made It the Most Popular Car of That Time
The story about Jiefang CA-10, which was the copy of Soviet ZIS-150
What is the most interesting part of visiting car museums? Some people prefer vintage cars; others love supercars.
As for me, It is something special that I can’t find in other places. For example, a vintage Chinese truck that you can meet only in China.
This one looks like a Soviet ZIS-150. But in fact — it is called the Jiefang CA-10.
What is Jiefang?
The Jiefang brand probably doesn’t tell you anything. In fact, it is a sub-brand of First Automobile Works (or FAW). This is something more familiar, isn’t it?
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the local government, headed by Mao Zedong, concentrated on the development of the automobile industry.
The Jiefang CA-10 (Jiefang means “Liberation” in Chinese) was the first mass-produced car in the PRC. Its production began in 1956 with the active assistance of the main ally of the country — the Soviet Union!
Jiefang CA-10 vs. ZIS-150
The Soviets provided the technical documentation for the ZIS-150 truck, as well as all the production equipment.
The 3.5-ton Chinese truck was almost an exact copy of the Soviet ZIS-150. Nevertheless, there were some differences. For example, Jiefang CA-10 had an additional prop of a cardan shaft, while ZIS-150 had a solid shaft.
CA-10 was equipped with a copy of the Soviet engine ZIS-120, which was used on ZIS-150. It had a capacity of 5.5 liters and 95 horsepower. Maximum speed was 90 km/h, and fuel consumption was 29 l/100 km.
Production continued until 1986. During that time, 1,281,502 copies were made. And that, by the way, is almost half of what the entire Chinese auto industry made at that time.
You can find two CA-10 in the Beijing Automobile Museum. Both with “military” olive-colored cabs.
Visually, it is easy to distinguish them from the ZIS-150 by the original grille and the Chinese characters on the sides of the hood.
