SAIC Hongyan

Sichuan Automotive an CNHTC era (1965–2001) On 1 October 1965, the Chinese government started building an assembly plant for military vehicles in Chongqing, the Sichuan Automotive Manufacturing Plant. The plant began production in 1966, initially assembling Hongyan-badged military vehicles based on Berliet technology. In the 1980s, the plant used Steyr technology for heavy-duty trucks and entered into the civilian market. The plant launched new products and diversified its heavy truck offer during the 1990s, increasing exports to foreign markets. Chongqin Hongyan era (2003–2005) The Sichuan plant was part of CNHTC until 2001, when financial difficulties forced CNHTC to divest it. In December 2002, A second truck, the Kingkan, was launched in 2011 and a third, the Gentruck, in 2015. A medium-duty truck, the Genpaw, was introduced in 2018. In December 2016, it was announced that SAIC Iveco would reduce its stake in the venture to 12.08% while SAIC would hold a direct 53.92% stake and Chongqing Heavy Vehicle Group's parent a 34%. In 2018, SAIC acquired a further 3.04% from SAIC Iveco. ==Operations and products==

SAIC Hongyan facilities are in the Liangjiang New District of Chongqing. The manufacturing plant, which has the capacity to assemble up to 80,000 vehicles per year, is modeled after Iveco's Madrid plant. SAIC Hongyan Axle Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary able to produce up to 300,000 axles per year. SAIC Hongyan produces medium-heavy trucks ranging between 160 and 560 metric horsepower for highway logistics and engineering, construction and special-purpose heavy vehicles. In China, the company markets its products under the Hongyan marque while that for export markets it uses both the Hongyan and Iveco marques. , trucks produced by SAIC Hongyan include the Genlyon (based on the Iveco Stralis AS), the Kingkan, the Genpaw and the Gentruck. ==References==