FAW Jiefang CA10 History

On 13 July 1956 the first Jiefang CA10 rolled off the assembly line at FAW's new Changchun factory — the People's Republic of China's first domestically manufactured motor vehicle, ending three decades of dependence on foreign trucks. Its design was licensed from the Soviet ZiS-150 (itself derived from the Studebaker US6), and Soviet engineers helped set up the tooling and train FAW's workforce.

Powered by a 90 hp six-cylinder petrol engine and rated for 4-tonne payloads, the CA10 was deployed as a military transport, fire engine, dumper, fuel tanker, and civilian cargo vehicle. Production continued for 30 years until 1986, with over 1.28 million units built — a foundational vehicle for China's industrialisation and the origin of the Jiefang commercial truck legacy that continues today under FAW.