First Automobile Works, or FAW, is China's first automaker, as its name suggests. It was founded in 1953 with the support of the USSR, and after 3 years it has already produced its first car, the 4-ton CA10 Jiefang truck. The end of the decade was marked by some disruptions in production, but all problems were successfully overcome.
In 1965, the company released the Hoggi elongated limousine, which soon became a prestigious vehicle used only by the government. In addition, FAW continued to develop heavy equipment for the emerging industry. So, in 1973, she presented a dump truck with a carrying capacity of 60 tons.
At first, the company's employees studied only in the Soviet Union, but the established international relations allowed FAW to learn from Japanese colleagues from such world-famous companies as Toyota, Mitsubishi and others. Thanks to this, the quality of the products of the First Automobile Plant of China has steadily improved.
In the late 1980s, FAW signed the first car assembly contracts with Volkswagen AG, and the early 1990s saw the construction of the company's first factory outside the country, in Tanzania. In 2005, Toyota Prius production began. The Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor joint venture was established specifically for this. A little later, First Automobile Works bought the rights to produce a mild hybrid from Toyota. Having carefully studied the technology of cars, the company's specialists released their own Hongqi sedan based on them. In the fall of the same year, production of Jiefang hybrid buses with a parallel hybrid system using Enova technology began. The company continues to develop today, regularly concluding international contracts and exporting its products to dozens of countries. It is one of the largest car manufacturers, cooperating with the world's leading brands, including Mazda, Hyundai, Audi, Volkswagen and others.
The third millennium was marked by the expansion of the production capacity of the enterprise. So, by 2006 the company occupied the main niche of car production in Jilin province, in 2010 a joint FAW and GM plant appeared in Changchun, a year later another one was opened in Harbin.
With the help of the main factories and operating branches, it is possible to produce cars of 6 categories: trucks of various carrying capacities, SUVs, cars and small cars, buses. FAW is second only to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in sales.
In addition to its own manufacturing facilities, First Automobile Works is majority owner of 20 different companies. In addition, it has 27 subsidiaries on its balance sheet.