China FAW Group Corp., Ltd. (First Automotive Works) is a Chinese central state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Changchun, Jilin.FAW Today FAW's 50th Anniversary Brochure Founded on 15 July 1953, it is currently the second largest of the "Big Four" state-owned car manufacturers of China, together with SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Changan Automobile.
The company produces and sells vehicles under its own branding, such as Hongqi, Bestune (Benteng) and under foreign-branded joint ventures such as FAW-Toyota and FAW-Volkswagen (Volkswagen, Audi, Jetta).
Its principal products are automobiles, buses, light, medium and heavy-duty trucks,About FAW Profile FAW Official Site and auto parts.Products Components & Parts FAW Official Site FAW became China's first automobile manufacturer when it unveiled the nation's first domestically produced passenger car, the Hongqi, in 1958.Key Events, May 21, 1958/Aug. 1, 1958 FAW Official site
As a state-owned enterprise of China, FAW Group is controlled and managed by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), which under Chinese law performs the functions of an investor.
The company has three publicly traded subsidiaries: FAW Jiefang Group Co., Ltd. (), Changchun FAWAY Automobile Components Co., Ltd. () and Qiming Information Technology Co., Ltd. ().
History
First Automotive Works broke ground on its first factory in 1953 (the first year of the first five-year plan),FAW Group Steps up Global Expansion FAW Official Site, Mar 27, 2007 and produced its first product, the Jiefang CA-10 truck (based on the Soviet ZIS-150) in 1956.About FAW > Key Events FAW Official Site
The Soviet Union lent assistance during these early years providing technical support, tooling, and production machinery. Before the first factory opened, 39 Chinese FAW employees traveled to the Stalin Truck Factory for instruction in truck production. Operations were conducted under Soviet direction, and the USSR is even credited with choosing Changchun as the location for the first FAW facility.
First Automotive Works initially made only commercial trucks, but started producing passenger cars in 1958. These vehicles, Hongqi luxury sedans, were the first domestically produced Chinese automobiles. Made primarily for the party elite, the design changed little over their thirty-year production run.The home team economist.com, Nov 13th 2008 Following this, FAW's Audi products are the traditionally favoured choice for ranking Chinese state officials.Chinese public revved up over BMW, Benz on gov't car list xinhuanet.com, 2009-06-13
The First Automotive Works "winged 1" badge is derived from the Chinese 一汽 ("一" meaning "one" and "汽", from "汽车" meaning "automotive") and depicts a hawk spreading its wings, 一 (1).About FAW > Corporate Trademark FAW Official Site The logo was introduced in 1964.About FAW > Key Events Faw Official Site
During the Third Front campaign to develop strategic industries in China's rugged interior to prepare for potential invasion from the United States or the Soviet Union, the First Automotive Works transferred a third of its workforce to develop the Second Automotive Works.
In 1992, the name First Automotive Works was changed to FAW Group Corporation.
Though FAW was the fourth Chinese automaker to take on Western partners, its early joint venture with Volkswagen (VW) in 1990 saw it become the second Chinese auto company to develop a strong cooperative relationship with a foreign counterpart. SAIC was the first, in 1984 and also with VW.Theme and variations economist.com, November 13 2008
Volkswagen was the first foreign partner for FAW, but others soon followed. The company acquired 50% ownership of Tianjin Automotive Xiali in September, 2002, and renamed the brand FAW Tianjin. As a result, FAW ended up with Toyota as a foreign joint venture partner. FAW established a joint venture with General Motors in 2009GM, China FAW Set Up Commercial-Vehicle Joint Venture Bloomberg.com, August 30, 2009 and has joint ventures with a handful of other foreign companies as well.
In 2008, the company produced more than 1.5 million vehicles. In 2009, it was the largest machinery corporation and the second largest auto maker in China.*For 2008 sales figures, see 2008 Annual Report FAW Official Site For 2009 ranking as largest Chinese machinery company, see FAW Ranks 1st among Top 500 Chinese Machinery Corporations FAW Official Site, Aug 7, 2009 For 2009 ranking as 2nd largest Chinese automaker, see SAIC expects rosy FY profit figures China Daily, Jan 7, 2010 In 2010, the 2.56 million units sold made it the third most-productive vehicle maker in China that year, and one of its offerings, the FAW Xiali, was the 7th most-purchased car in China in 2010.*For 2010 sales figures, see China Car Market 101: Who Makes All Those 18 Million Cars? thetruthaboutcars.com, January 19, 2011 For 2010 ranking as 3rd largest Chinese vehicle manufacturer, see Sales surge, but congestion concerns rise people.com.cn, November 15, 2010 For FAW Xiali as 7th most-popular car in 2010, see Top 10 Best-Selling Sedans and SUVs in 2010 chinaautoweb.com, January 14, 2011 It produced 2.6 million vehicles in 2011, the third-largest output of any China-based company. While it retained its third place rank, the number of whole vehicles produced in 2012 slowed to 2.3 million. Passenger cars made up a relatively scant 64% of total production that year.
In September 2018, British car designer Giles Taylor joined the FAW Group as Global Vice President of Design and Chief Creative Officer for Hongqi. In July 2021, FAW transferred 49% of the shares of FAW Haima to Hainan Development Holdings Co., Ltd. (Hainan Holdings) at no charge. Haima Automobile holds 51% of the shares in FAW Haima, while Hainan Holdings hold 49% of the shares.
As of 2024, many other brands have been liquidated, leaving only Hongqi and Bestune as passenger car brands.
Collaboration with Leapmotor In March 2025, FAW Group and Leapmotor signed the MOU on strategic cooperation, under which the two parties will jointly develop passenger vehicles and collaborate on auto parts.
In May 2025 at the Auto Shanghai, Zhu Jiangming, Chairman of Leapmotor, revealed that the two companies have finalized their partnership and will jointly develop a model for the Hongqi brand targeting overseas markets. Mass production of the new vehicle is set to begin in the second half of 2026 at Leapmotor's Hangzhou plant. The new Hongqi model will be built on the same platform as Leapmotor B10 with both battery electric and range-extender powertrain.
Collaboration with Yueda Group In September 2023, Bestune announced the completion of its capital increase project, the registered capital increased from CNY 6.0 billion to CNY 8.4 billion. Yueda Automotive Group, a subsidiary of state-owned Yueda Group, became the first external investor introduced to Bestune. FAW Corporation Limited (FAW Group), FAW Equity Investment, and Yueda Automotive Group hold stakes of 86.16%, 11.87%, and 1.97%, respectively.
In September 2025, FAW Group, Yueda Automotive, Agricultural Bank of China, China Telecom, and Nanjing Horizon Information Technology jointly increased their capital investment in Bestune, raising a total of 8.55 billion yuan. Following the capital increase, the equity structure of Bestune changed. The combined shareholding of FAW and FAW Equity Investment in Bestune decreased from 86.1568% to 79.0394%. Yueda Automotive's shareholding increased from 1.9741% to 10.3358%, making it the second-largest shareholder. Nanjing Horizon, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Telecom hold 0.6044%, 6.0443%, and 3.0222% respectively.
In June 2026, at the Yueyi 08 launch event, FAW Group announced that FAW Yueyi has been upgraded to an independent new energy brand.
Collaboration with GAC Group In September 2026, GAC Group announced that it planned to acquire part of the equity of a vehicle joint venture held by FAW Group through the issuance of shares, and to raise supporting funds. Upon completion of the transaction, FAW Group will become the second largest shareholder of GAC Group.
List of Chairmen Current Qiu Xiandong (since September 2023)
Past Chairmen Xu Jianyi (2010–2015) Xu Ping (2015–2017) Xu Liuping (2017–2023)
Brands and products
FAW sold products under at least ten different brands including its own, but most of its brands has been discontinued or consolidated into Hongqi, Jiefang, Bestune and Yueyi brand currently.
Hongqi
Hongqi, meaning "red flag" in Chinese, is a luxury car marque owned by the FAW Group. Hongqi was launched in 1958. It is the oldest Chinese passenger car marque.
Jiefang
Jiefang is the medium and heavy truck brand of FAW Group. The first truck was produced 1956. It was the first-ever truck built by the People's Republic of China. Jiefang became a subsidiary on 18 January 2003 with two subsidiaries of its own, Qingdao Truck Division and FAW Trading Company, it is one make of Jiefang branded trucks.Page 9 FAW 50th Anniversary Brochure
Bestune (formerly Besturn)
Bestune was established on August 18, 2006,About FAW > Key Events FAW Official Site It may also be known as Ben Teng.Besturn B90 Sedan spotted out testing chinacartimes.com, October 27, 2010 It serves as the passenger car brand in FAW Group.
Yueyi
Yueyi was originally a product line under Bestune after the investment from Yueda Group in 2023. It became an independent brand since 2026.
FAW discontinued brands FAW Haima (divested), founded in January 1992 as Hainan Mazda Motor, a joint venture between the Hainan provincial government and Mazda to produce Mazda models for sale in China. In 2006, Mazda's share of Hainan Mazda was acquired by FAW Group, and the company became a subsidiary of FAW. In July 2021, FAW transferred 49% of the shares of FAW Haima to Hainan Development Holdings Co., Ltd. (Hainan Holdings) at no charge. Tianjin FAW (discontinued), Junpai, Huali, Xiali (discontinued), Jiaxing (discontinued) FAW Jilin (discontinued), a maker of mini-vehicles, small trucks and vans under the Senia and Jiabao brands. Oley (discontinued), a newer brand that was targeting young buyers. Defunct in 2015. SiTech (discontinued), a brand that focuses on electric vehicles. Established in 2018 with the first car called SiTech DEV1 launched. Pengxiang Shenli Yuan ZhengPage 32 FAW 50th Anniversary Brochure FAC (marque), FAW Lingyuan Baolong +FAW group sales by brandYearTotalFAW GroupFAW JiefangFAW BestuneFAW HaimaFAW JilinFAW TianjinHongqiJiefangBestuneOleyHaimaSeniaJiabaoJunpaiXiali20101,038,290193394,739132,212 -140,33248,49970,795 -245,9202011907,3372280,104112,816 -156,21241,09062,555 -250,1532012718,327127230,02672,4846,545131,64241,27049,672 -183,9762013723,9692,981276,956121,2546,300113,44640,42439,554 -129,3922014627,0062,708239,450179,4536,93390,42617,66617,7764,04168,0182015505,8495,044178,300147,8971,93670,93814,15922,70529,30835,5412016505,7115,052231,203105,67086363,02950,44010,61216,59521,9092017572,8624,702317,445116,47218639,36962,2905,30817,5989,4822018543,98633,028338,30288,70819722,50736,2483,37517,67411,222019589,832100,166352,702120,193discontinued4,4525,8186833,7712212020779,403200,338492,62283,3912,936discontinueddiscontinued2021846,803300,638454,42677,21814,5212022555,406309,657170,04975,700divested2023732,328370,000241,662120,6662024813,632411,777251,078150,7772025940,080460,000280,000200,017
Joint ventures FAW-Toyota
Created in 2003,Home > About Us > Company Introduction > Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. Tianjin Xiali Official Site FAW operates this joint venture with Japanese automaker Toyota through Tianjin FAW. Key subsidiaries include:
Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co