Biglorryblog's recent posting on Russian and in particular Chinese trucks certainly struck a chord with regular reader Richard Stanier who tells me: "Being very interested in all the world's trucks I really appreciated the SNVI piece in BLB, and also the Chinese and Russian Trucks at the Moscow Show. Chinese trucks are fascinating at the moment, but obtaining literature on them is nigh near impossible. Until recently Chinese trucks appear to have been either based on older Western or Japanese designs (like the CNHTC Howo) or be very similar to foreign designs." Indeed Richard has sent me this shot of what he reckons "Must be the Chinese Scania to which one of your correspondents refer---it's even finished in the Scania corporate colours!" However, what yours truly doesn't know is whether JAC has an official tie-up with Scania, which would explain why it looks like a Scania, i.e. because it is one, albeit built under licence....so maybe a BLB reader can provide the answer to that one?
Richard goes on to say: "However, I have recently seen the latest offering from FAW on the net, and this is apparently being heralded as the first Chinese-designed and built premium truck. I have attached an image of it. I try and keep abreast of Chinese developments here (with Ollie Dixon's help of course)." The Mr Dixon he refers to is of course my fellow blogging co-evil whose world truck blog can be found on the same site as me.
In the meantime, BLB's thanks for the words and pictures, all contributions on the Chinese scene gratefully received.
The Chinese truck that looks like a Scania with the name JAC is built by the Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company in Hefei. It is called the "Gallop". There is also a medium weight Scania look-a-like called the "Swordsman". They are powered by Weichai or Yuchai diesel engines and have transmissions from Eaton-Fuller and axles from Chinese Steyr. The cabovers that come in 4x2, 6x2,6x4 and 8x4 drive tractor or truck are so well modelled after the latest Swedish product that the difference can only be noticed at close range. From the side you can see that the cab is actually a Hyundai structure. There is no cooperation what so ever between JAC and the Swedes...
Niels Jansen
Thanks for the information Niels, it's really interesting. I had noticed that what can be seen of the JAC's side profile definately has an oriental look about it.I had not been able to find out much detail about JAC heavies until now, but I do have a brochure on their HFC Series light truck which is similar in appearance to Isuzu's N Series.
As for the Howo FL 10 style cab and whether the Volvo - CNHTC Joint Venture is still going; rumour is that the JV terms allowed for two lines of production up in Jinan city: first, "real" Volvos to be sold under the Volvo name and second, the Howo to be sold using CNHTC drivetrain (same running gear as the Steyr-Wang = Steyr-King produced by CNHTC using a design based on the Steyr cabs). Volvo supposedly receives just US $ 100 per Howo sold, for the right to the FL 10 cab design. This leads to the Chinese slogan among operators in China "Volvo performs on stage, while CNTHC collects the entry tickets". The real-Volvo production is mired in dispute with none on the roads yet, while with the Howo, CNHTC has a best-seller.
Thanks for that information William. When I was in Shanghai in 2004 I was amazed at the number of Steyr - derived heavy trucks there were employed in trunking operations. I didn't see any Howos though, perhaps they were not on the market at that time.