After the overwhelming 2024 Auto China show in Beijing, we got to see more cars at BAIC's factory in the outskirts of the city. It was a quick visit, but we got to see BAIC's latest models on display.
BAIC stands for Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd, and is a state-owned carmaker founded in the ’50s. It arrived in our market before the pandemic, but didn't really gain traction. BAIC returned March of this year under the United Asia Automotive Group Incorporated umbrella, thus the sponsored facility visit.
In the lobby of BAIC's headquarters there were some cars on display. It felt like a typical car company building. There was a brief factory tour, but as what usually happens with these events, we were not allowed to take photos of the production line. In the end we also saw a quick off-road demonstration.
Here are some snapshots from our brief but memorable stay.
This looks like the type of vehicles used for military parades.
In our market this is known as the B40 Ragnar.
This BAIC SUV is already being sold in our market. Known as the BJ80 in China, it has been renamed the B80 in our market for, er, obvious reasons.
