Nanjing Yuejin Soyat
| Nanjing Yuejin Soyat | |
|---|---|
 Soyat Encore (2003-2007) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Nanjing Automobile |
| Production | 1999-2008 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Small family car |
| Body style |
5-door hatchback 4-door van |
| Related | SEAT Ibiza Mk1 |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | None |
Encore/Soyat
The Soyat is a small family hatchback built by the Wuxi Soyat (南汽新雅途) branch of Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation. The car is based on the early ('System Porsche') version of the SEAT Ibiza Mark I[1] (1984-1993). After the car was replaced, the technology and production line were bought by a joint venture between Nanjing Yuejin and the Malaysian Lion Group in 1997. Production did not begin, however, until Fiat took over the Lion Group's share in Jiangsu Nanya Auto, as the company was called.[2]
In 1999 the SEAT design was modified for the Chinese market and then rebranded as the Zhongguo Nanjing NJ6400, later as the modernized and fuel injected GHR Encore. This model continued until October 2003 when the Ibiza license expired and the design had to be updated. In March 2004 a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer called Ningbo Bird decided that it too wanted to get into the process of car manufacture. With Ningbo Bird joining the original partners in a 50/50 relationship, the new design was renamed the Soyat.[2] Ningbo Bird then left the company in 2005.
In addition to the five-door Soyat hatchback, a four-door tall estate (two on the right-hand side) called the Soyat Unique NJ1020 is also available, using a wider and taller rear end borrowed from the more modern SEAT Inca.
Although the car's design dates back to 1984, it proved reasonably popular despite being based on a design which is now more than twenty years old. Production numbers have dropped considerably (from 4,261 in 2004[2] to 705 in the first eleven months of 2007,[3]) as Nanjing's focus switched to more modern and competitive Fiats and then MGs. Engines available were originally the "System Porsche" 1.2 and 1.5-litre (70 and 86 hp), the smaller engine has since been replaced with a 1,342 cc version of Toyota origins. In 2007 the Soyat received another facelift styled a bit like the front end of the Proton Waja, but it was all for nothing and by 2008 Soyat production had ended and Nanjing's new owners SAIC closed down the Wuxi factory.[4]
Models
- Nanjing Yuejin NJ6400 / Encore / Unique (英格尔/优尼柯, 1999 - 2003)
- Nanjing Yuejin NJ6400/7150 Encore / Soyat (英格尔/新雅途, 2003 - 2008, facelifted in 2007)
- Nanjing Yuejin NJ1020 Unique (优尼柯, four-door tall estate)
These models were mainly sold inside mainland China.
References
- ↑ "Seat Ibiza estate for 2010". Autocar. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- 1 2 3 World of Cars 2006·2007. Warsaw, Poland: Media Connection Sp. z o.o. 2006. p. 236.
- ↑ Eric van Ingen Schenau (January 2, 2008). "Nanjing Soyat". Newsgroup: http://www.chinacarforums.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010. External link in
|newsgroup=(help)
Respected Chinese car specialist Erik van Ingen Schenau of the China Motor Vehicle Documentation Centre quotes production figures according to the CAAM (Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers) as follows: "Jan-Nov. 2007: 382 units for the hatchback and 323 units for the Unique (Van)." - ↑ Ash (2010-08-10). "LDV back from the dead in China". China Car Times.