This is a Haima Happin, as seen in the Chinese capital Beijing. The good Haima was in fine shape, painted metallic black, and fitted with sporty five-spoke wheels.
Haima is a relatively small Chinese car maker owned by First Auto Works (FAW). It was founded in 1992 as a joint venture called ‘Hainan Mazda’. The partners were Hainan Auto, owned by the Hainan provincial government, and Mazda. Over the years, the joint venture made about a dozen different models under two brand names: Haima (from Hainan Mazda) and Mazda.
In 2006, FAW came into play. They bought a controlling stake in Hainan Auto and Hainan Auto’s share of the joint venture. The JV was subsequently renamed FAW-Mazda, but Hainan Auto kept the rights to the old Mazda platforms. The Haima Happin, also called the Haima Family, is a compact sedan based on the Mazda 323. The Chinese name is 海福星, Haifuxing.
The interior was in reasonable shape but in need of a good cleanup. The owner added seat covers, a steering wheel cover, and a fancy extra pillow. The white dials add a bit of sportiness.
That’s two sets of seat covers over the bench!
The Haima Happin was made from 2003 until 2012, with facelifts in 2007 and 2010. The car we have here is a first facelift example.
Haima sold two trim levels: GL and GLX. Our black car is a GL.
The GLX version had fog lights and fancier wheels.
Characters: 海马汽车, Haima Qiche, Haima Auto.
The Happin was available with just one engine: a Mazda-based China-made 1.6 liter four-cylinder gasoline unit with an output of 117 hp and 154 Nm. The engine was mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, sending horses to the front wheels. The top speed was 175 km/h and fuel consumption was 7.8 liters per 100 kilometers.
The HAPPIN badge was kind of cool, printed in shiny capitals.
The Haima Happin was an affordable car, intended for middle-class families, and competing with vehicles like the Volkswagen Jetta and the Citroen Fukang. The GL model was priced at 66.800 yuan, and for that money, you got a 4.3-meter-long five-seat car with an old but reliable engine.
The Happin was very popular down south, but not in Beijing. The Haima brand wasn’t very well-known in the capital by that time, so these were pretty rare even then, and nowadays the Happin is a very rare sight. I hope the owner of this car will keep it around for a while.