Dacia pick-up ... made in China! ("Xingtai 114")

O premiera absoluta, cu amabilitatea d-lui Erik van Ingen Schenau, expertul mondial la capitolul istoriei auto in China: Dacia construita in China!

Seamana uluitor cu o Dacie 1307 "double cabine". Dar sunt diferente. Fata "ochelarista" nu a existat nicoidata pe 1307. La fel stopurile de papuc stil vechi, bordul, si oglinzile cromate. Usa din spate
e prea scurta. De fapt, sasiul pare unul normal de 1304.

Aceasta masina - fotografiata in 1992 - poarta insigna "Xingtai 114 Automobile Works". Erik ne spune ca e vorba despre o fabrica auto din anii 90 in orasul Shaohe, provincial Hebei. Daciile au fost produse la inceputul anilor 90 - nu se stie daca in regim CKD sau SKD. 114 era foarte mica; construia autobuze si salvari din 4x4uri autohtone. Ulterior au facut cateva 4x4uri si pick-up-uri sub marca Jixing. A disparut fabrica inainte de 2000.

E atat de putin cunoscuta incat nu exista niciun fel de informatie pe internet. Aceste poze sunt 99.9% singura dovada ca asa ceva a existat.

Ma intreb care era legatura dintre Xingtai 114 si uzina mama Dacia? Care, si ei, importau in China incepand cu anii 80, si incercau sa isi vanda noile modele pick-up acolo...

An absolute premiere, with the amiability of Erik van Ingen Schonau, who knows more about the Chinese auto industry than pretty much anyone else: Dacia assembled in China!

It looks a lot like a Dacia 1307 "double cabine". But there are lots of differences. The quad headlamps never existed on a 1307. Nor did that dashboard, the chromed mirrors or the old-style pick-up tail lights. The rear door is much too short. In fact, so is the chassis - judging from the photos it looks to be a standard pick-up chassis.

This car, photographed in 1992, bears the title "Xingtai 114 Automobile works." As Erik writes, this was a real car factory in the 1990s, in Shaohe, Hebei province. It's not clear whether Dacias were produced as CKD or SKD. The 114 auto works was a very small factory making conversions of Beijing jeep and Yuejin Nj134 vehicles, into buses, ambulances, etc. since the 1980s. They also made some 4x4s and pickups, under the Jixing name. They owned the designation XT and JX, later changed into XTQ. The factory disappeared before 2000.

The factory is so obscure that the Internet yields no information. These photos are almost certainly the only evidence that such a car ever existed.

I wonder what was the link between the Xingtai 114 and the mother-plant in Romania? After all, Dacia was selling to China since the early 80s and was trying to market its own pick-ups...