In 1999, the Chinese automobile company JAC was founded, which is part of the huge technology conglomerate Anhui Jianguai Automobile Co. However, production at the factories of this brand began only in 2002, after a long work on the preparation of production facilities and the purchase of a number of technologies from foreign automakers, since the corporation was founded on the technical capacities of an automobile plant that has existed since 1964 and much is outdated. The main specialization of the JAC brand is the production of commercial vehicles, including buses. It should be noted that the company accounts for about 30% of the domestic commercial vehicle market. In 2003, Jianghuai Automobile Co. produced about 120,000 units of various vehicles.
The first models of the company were commercial vehicles and special equipment for work in the areas of industrial construction and passenger transportation. This is how the first compact buses JAC H appeared, equipped with diesel power units Yuchai, created using the technologies of the Japanese company "Isuzu". China. Also, Jianghuai Automobile Co. manufactures small dump trucks and trucks under the license of the Japanese company Isuzu Motors Ltd.
In 2004, an agreement was signed with the South Korean company Hyundai, which became a technology partner of the JAC brand. The first joint model was the JAC Refine, a mid-size minibus based on the Hyundai Starex. By this time, the main source of income for the brand was the HFC series trucks, which have both an all-wheel drive and a 6x4 transmission structure. Carrying capacities of the models range from 2.5 to 25 tons, and the power of diesel engines reaches 390 horsepower. In addition, the company produces a whole range of tourist and city buses, becoming the main partner of all sports clubs in China and the largest travel companies.
By 2008, JAC holds 30% of the commercial vehicle segment in the Chinese market, significantly ahead of all its closest competitors. In the same year, the brand's management decides to create the first passenger cars, in which the engineers of the Chinese company again used the help of the South Korean Hyundai. So the JAC Rhine was presented, built on the basis of the first generation Hyundai Santa Fe. However, the car received a number of additions presented by the Russian firm "TagAZ". One of the main additions was the use of a stiffer suspension in the all-wheel drive versions, which provided better cross-country ability in China's road conditions.
In 2010, JAC engineers began building their own electric car, which was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show that same year. In addition, a hybrid version of the Toyota Rav4 was brought to the exhibition, in which the engineers of the Chinese company also took part.
In 2012, an alliance was concluded with the Japanese firm Toyota, which allowed the JAC brand to start work on a full-size off-road vehicle, as well as to launch the production of a new generation of tourist and city buses.
Today JAC supplies transmission units to car factories in China. The production of special chassis for small and middle class buses has also been established. To Japan, Jianghuai Automobile Co. exports truck frames. With Korean firms, JAC manufactures Hyundai commercial vehicles, including minivans and coaches, as well as tractors for road trains. JAC has partners in the European part: in Italy, JAC has a Design Center, to which all European companies in China are subordinate. JAC establishes dealerships for the maintenance of its cars in the Middle East and South America. Jack considers its main task to take into account modern technologies of the world's leading companies and use them in their cars. To produce high-quality products, JAC carries out a resource test of each new model of its vehicles in national test centers for two years, including a test run for 100 km.