This is a super rare Yunbao YB2030 Nissan Patrol, seen on a car market in Beijing in 2016. The Yunbao YB2030 is basically a locally end-assembled fourth-generation Nissan Patrol Y60.
The Yunbao YB2030 was build in China under the infamous Guangdong scheme, where boatloads of cars, new and second-hand, were semi-legally shipped into China, missing only the wheels and mirrors and such. In China, the cars would be put together again and re-branded as a Chinese brand. The scheme was aimed at avoiding import taxes, which where vert high at the time. Read all about the scheme here and about the cars here.
The Yunbao brand was owned by a company called Guangzhou Jing’an Yunbao Automobile. Yunbao (云豹) means ‘Cloud Leopard’. The company was based in Guangzhou, capital of China’s southern Guangdong Province and epicenter of the Guangdong scheme.
As so many other companies of that time and place, Yunbao operated a mix of official joint ventures, semiofficial joint ventures, and semi-legal and illegal production. The company made quite a few Nissan products, including the Y30 Cedric Wagon, with assistance from Taiwanse company Yulon Motor. How much Nissan Motor of Japan was aware of what was going on is yet a mystery.
Considering this sticker above the tow-hook the Nissan Patrol we have here was a total Guangdong scheme car. Shipped from elsewhere into China, rebadged, and sold on as a locally-made car. Yunbao didn’t even bother to remove the sticker! The Y60 was made from 1987 until 1997, and most Chinese ‘production’ happened in the second half of the 1990’s.
The 4WD badge on the front fender.
The Yunbao YB2030 was powered by Nissan’s TB42 4.2 liter straight 6 petrol engine. Output was 173 hp and 320 Nm. Power went to all four wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission.
The interior was in a great shape for its age. The black leather seats seem fine and they are protected by after-market seat covers. The door upholstery is a little dirty, and the entire cabin can use a good cleanup.
These 1990’s Nissan Patrol SUVs are always impressive machines to see, with their boxy design, wide fenders, and big off-road wheels. It is probably the last Patrol of a decent size, later generations became way too large.
Nissan badge on the C-pillar, but only on the right side.
The Yunbao YJ2030 Nissan Patrol is a rare car. Over the years I have only seen two. But I lived up north in Beijing. They are less rare down south in Guangdong and surrounding provinces. There is another small Nissan badge to the left of the door handle, and the license plate has a nice shiny frame around it. Those license plate frames were very popular in China in the early 2000’s.
The YB2030 badge on the door handle. It was the only badge identifying it as a Yunbao. Some other cars also have Chinese-character Yunbao badges.
It is very difficult nowadays to keep cars like this on the road in Beijing, due to the ever stricter emission regulations. Many oldies are scrapped or sold on to provinces in the interior. These days, older cars are a real rarity in central Beijing. Things get only better outside the Fifth Ring Road, considered the edge of the city, where you still can find many older cars.
The daytime running lights in the front fender, in front of the wheel arch, indicate this particular Patrol was originally exported to the US, and in the end ended up in China. An interesting example of China’s strange and wild automotive history.
Guangzhou Yunbao was eventually bought by Dongfeng, which changed the name into Fenshen (Aeolus), and started building semi-official and later official Dongfeng-branded Taiwan-spec Nissans in China.