This is a First Auto Works Jiabao CA63601A1, a cool Chinese microvan. In China this kind of vehicles are called mianbaoche, literally bread car, because their shape resembles a loaf of bread.
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The Jiabao CA63601A1 is manufactured by FAW-Jilin, a subsidiary of First Auto Works (FAW). Jiabao is the name of a series of micro- and minivans. The name is still in use today. It means Good Treasure.
The Jiabao CA63601A1 was made from 2004 until 2008. It is a people carrier, rated at 8 seats. In China, commercial people carriers are obligated by law to have their passenger rating printed on the door, so law-enforcement can easily see of a vehicle is overloaded.
Naturally, there isn’t much space in such a little car, so with eight adults it is going to be cozy. But down countryside they go in with 10 or even more, plus kids, plus bags, plus animals. The vans are simple and strong, and take it all. Until they break down. Seat arrangement: 2-3 (one folding seat)-3.
Size: 3644/1445/1841, wheelbase is 1940 and curb weight is just 900 kilo. Power comes from a 1.05 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with 48 hp and 74 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual, sending horses to the front wheels. Top speed was claimed to be 100 kilometers per hour.
A very basic dashboard made out of hard black plastic.
It was a very basic car in anyway. No luxuries, no frills, nothing pretty. But it worked and it was cheap: price in 2007 started at just 29.800 yuan and ended at 41.000 yuan. Parts were extremely cheap too, and ever man with a hammer could do the maintenance. They were durable too, there are still quite a lot on the road even today.
This 2006 car was in a very good shape, with a clean body and without too much damage. It was on sale for 5.000 yuan, which seems a reasonable deal, although the seller didn’t mention anything about mileage…
The CA63601A1 badge, made out of individual letters. That must have been a hard job to align!
The characters read ‘China First Auto’.
A period factory photo.