Calling FAW as one of the most dedicated Chinese Automakers to ever come to Pakistan may not be an overstatement. The reason being, its ten years long partnership with Pakistan’s Al-haj, which has successfully led to their manufacturing operations and the provision of FAW’s light vehicles in our country. FAW originally started off in Pakistan by selling heavy vehicles and then moved on to introduce and produce light vehicles like the X-PV and Carrier.
Also Read: Al-Haj FAW discloses its plans to assemble V2 in Pakistan
Moreover, Al-haj FAW CEO, Hilal Khan’s hints over V2‘s localized production are a further testament to FAW’s determination in competing for the well-established big three of our auto market. Currently, they offer four vehicles under their light vehicles line-up in between PKR 725,000 and PKR 1,885,000. And keeping in view, the growing interest of FAW in the Pakistani market, it is safe to assume that they will swell their line-up to create further inroads. There are several cars which FAW sells in mainland China to put that into perspective; they alone have six sub-brands, each selling two to five different models. For example V2 actually hails from their Vita brand making it the FAW Vita V2 in full.
So which car in FAW China’s line-up can prove to be disruptive if brought to Pakistan?
As I mentioned before, FAW has many models up its sleeve in China, out of which, many hold the potential to provide a breakthrough in our industry. But with more cars, come more possibilities and with that comes greater confusion. To ease that out, we at PakWheels Blog have been coming up with articles about cars, which our industry is in dire need of. My top pick right now is the all new FAW B50 and in the following paragraphs, I will supply you with the reasons for my choice.
B50 comes from FAW’s Besturn division, formerly known for basing its cars on older Mazdas is now leading FAW’s brand line-up from the front, with cars like B30 (which we also featured as a potential deal-maker for Pakistani market) and now with the completely redesigned B50.
Exterior
On the outside, new 2016 FAW B50 sees a complete design overhaul over its predecessor as it keeps up with the bolder new design language of FAW Besturn brand, as seen before in the newly released B30. B50 now has a broader front grille along with sleeker headlamps and horizontal strip-style LED fog/daylight running lamps. Moreover, rather better-looking creases on the sides enhance the overall aggressive-sh look of the car.
Have a Look: The FAW B30 Can Be A Good Addition In 1600cc Segment In Pakistan
There are two different trim levels for the car, both of which have some noticeable design variances. The fundamental differences between the top of the line RS variant and B50’s base variant in the exterior department include a different set of alloy rims, black front grille in addition to coming with a trunk mounted pedestal-esque spoiler and black roof.
Interior
If you don’t think that the exterior of new FAW B50 qualifies as a complete redesign, give its interior a chance, which as shown in the photo above, completely blows away its predecessor.
The interior of the new B50 looks well thought and crafted, but again it’s something that depends on one’s personal preference. Moving on while RS and Base variants have various noticeable design differences on the outside, there isn’t much to talk about in the interior department, as the only difference is the presence of red stitching and RS badges in the top of the line RS trim. Only let down, however, is the infotainment unit of the car, which is an area often neglected by Chinese automakers, because apparently the Chinese customers are accustomed to only listening to the radio in the car leaving much to be desired.
Recommended Reading: All That FAW Can Offer: A Pakistani Auto Consumer’s Expectations From FAW
What comes Under the Hood?
Under the hood, new B50 comes with two different options in the form of either a 1.4-liter Turbo or a 1.6-liter Naturally Aspirated engine. Both the engines are Volkswagen-sourced; thanks to FAW’s extensive portfolio of joint ventures with companies like the VW, Mazda, etc. 1.6-liter engine option is the same from the last iteration which means it still has a not too pleasing power output rating of 109-hp and 155-Nm of torque. The new entrant to the engine department is a 1.4-liter Turbo option which gives out some decent 136 horses and 220Nm of torques to B50’s wheels. However, this engine remains exclusive to the more expensive RS model. Transmission offerings also remain pretty standard with a choice of either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.
How Does its Price Stack-up Against the Sedan Stakeholders of Pakistan’s Market?
Currently, the new B50 from FAW has gone on sale in China at a starting price of 81,800 Yuan that translates to around PKR 1,290,000, which is straightaway PKR 233,000 less than the cheapest ‘new’ sedan of our market that is the 1.3-liter Honda City. The RS model, which comes with a 1.4-liter Turbo engine, is available for purchase in China for a price of 117,800 Yuan which, when exchanged to Pakistani Rupees comes out to be equivalent of PKR 1,854,000.
In the case of Pakistani market, the lack of competition has for long led to the unjustified pricing of cars as proven by the price comparison in the table above. To me even if FAW somehow manages to bring the base variant of the B50 in our market for a price that is less than PKR 2.0 million, it can create inroads in Pakistan.
In my past comparisons too, I have taken into account, the exterior dimensions of the cars compared, as I feel it can give an idea of the relative size of a car, which we have not yet physically seen. So in this area, FAW is clearly longer also with a larger wheelbase (which is a preference of Chinese customers at large) than all of the three sedan stakeholders of our market. The only place where it takes the second spot is the width, which is where 2016 Honda Civic has a minute lead of 5mm. Other than that, it’s all good news from B50.
Read More: FAW Carrier VS Suzuki Ravi – Is Carrier Worth an Extra 80k?
The 2016 FAW B50 is another proof of the iteration by iteration improvement, which is now becoming increasingly evident in new Chinese cars helping them to come on par with globally better established European, Japanese, Korean and American competitors. Do you think FAW B50 has what it takes to overcome the prevailing influence of Japanese Sedans in our country? Respond in the comment section below.
This blog was first published on: Aug 26, 2016
no mention of ground-clearance and rear headroom? also what about airbags?
Dear writer, look up KIA Optima and then re write from another point of view. As usual the Chinese have made a complete carbon copy of the design and its not original at all in this case (or bold, as its a copy of an established brand, Yes KIA is an established brand NOW). Your comparison with corolla and Civic especially in dimensions is useless because the original car i.e KIA Optima is meant not as a competitor against Corolla or Civic but Camry, Accord and should add Hyundai Sonata, the family sedan category. The engine options are questionable as I think Optima is powered by a 2 liter (but maybe the dimensions are not the same?).
Hi Zuhaib, thanks for the comment I have seen Kia Optima and it looks nothing like the new B50 (maybe previous B50 shares some resemblance with the older Optima but the new one surely does not) you may refer to the attached images which show all three iterations of Optima. Plus the motive of my article is to show the potential of B50 in Pakistan and how Chinese automakers are adding more features and improving upon their cars gen after gen. Of course the possibility of a copy cannot be ruled out and since there are thousands of different cars out and about maybe B50 draws inspiration from one (I mean there have been cars made by various automakers which have somehow copied or drew inspiration from the design of another) and like I mentioned in my piece Besturn has long been basing cars on Mazdas (that’s because they have a joint venture). Secondly reason for my dimensions comparison with Corolla and Civic is to have a common ground of relativity for Pakistani audience, I am aware of the fact that dimension wise B50 tries to reach the Accord and Camry waters but then again the lack of equipment means a tougher comparison with the more “premium” Japanese Sedan along with that comparing a $12,900-sh car with Accord and Camry doesn’t make sense. I guess it also explains the omission of Sonata from the equation. The engine options are final as previously too B50 has been powered by smaller displacement engines this is a regular practice of Chinese automakers due to some taxation matters in the country and due to consumer preference. Once again thanks for your comment!
1st gen Optima shares no resemblance with either old or new B50
2nd gen Optima shares a little with the older B50 but the new B50 is different
3rd gen Optima like the 1st gen has no resemblance with both the older and the new B50
My Vote is for Kia Optima! Super Car!
Another Chinese Car We Want to See in Pakistan!
By “WE” you me “YOU” 🙂
Bro… It is not mobile phone… Kia is not interested to enter ONLY SALE Pakistani Market , Now Trends have been changed , NEW AUTO MAKERS enter only that country where they can build and EXPORT some models from that country….
Anyone know anything about the safety features compared to its would-be competitors Toyota Corolla, Honda city or Honda civic.
Chinese cars are high on safety. China have their own crash testing standard called the C-NCAP (中国新车评价规程 in Chinese), complete along with laboratories, testing facilities and all that good stuff.
There is good market competition in China and therefore automakers have to listen to the customers. And the customers prefer cars that are high on safety. There is a certain reasoning behind this mindset. As most Chinese people are irreligious (there is lots of superstition and tradition, in a way similar to Japan, but many people do not even have an idea of what a religion is), therefore there is limited concept of an already defined destiny and an (or more than one) afterlife. Hence people give high importance to passive crash safety and other active safety measures.
Carmakers actively advertise their C-NCAP ratings. The safety ratings of smallest cars for poorest consumers (such as Chery QQ) are not good but the safety ratings for mid-level and top-level cars are pretty good.
For the education of PW readers and show how human beings are similar all over: Just like in Pakistan we moan that Japanese carmakers make good cars for JDM but not as good for export market (made in Japan for zero meter export) or assembled in other countries, similarly in China (they have a long-lost enmity with Japan) usually there are news reports in which they complain that Japanese automakers make good cars for Japanese market but make pathetic cars for Chinese market in factories in China. As far as I remember, in one of such article, they also showed some examples of crashed Nissan Teana which was made by Dongfeng Nissan and another crashed JDM Nissan Teana which had crashed in Japan.
Did you try to write some 拼音?
Dear carmakers,
We have congested spaces in Pakistan with no concept of lane marking or parking slot. The population density is way too high compared to large countries like India and China because Pakistan is geographically very small.
Therefore it is requested not to market wide body vehicles here. The max we can take is 65 to 67 inch wide (1.65 – 1.7 m). Corolla from 1986 to 2006 was in between this size. The City is still not wider than 67 in. Honda Civic from dolphin (1992) to Prosmatec (upto 2005) was the same. Mitsubishi Lancer from 1990 to date has been the same size. Suzuki Margalla, Baleno and Liana all fit within this width. Nissan Sunny and Pulsar of all dates used to fit within this size. Even SUVs like toyota Rush which are comfortable enough to sit in, fit in this size.
Now suddenly you are making new cars which are 69-70 inch or even more wider. Wider cars are difficult to maneuver and take up more space. Arguably it is only 2-3 inches but then you may know that only 2 inches can be the difference between ecstatic pleasure and excruciating pain!
On the one hand Paksuzuki is adamant on selling the Mehran in which no normally-sized person can even fit due to the lack of leg room. On the other hand Civic and Corolla are getting bigger each year, erstwhile the congestion is ever-increasing. Isn’t it called extremism?
Who will work for equality in the society? Some people cannot even fit in their car while some cars offer enough space for their occupants to run around.
Bhaii aap ke kehnay say to phir Honda Atlas aur Toyota Indus bhi bund kr dain factories. Anyways for now we are wishing that we had the options. By your reasoning we would end up importing from India and Iran.
“I have seen Kia Optima and it looks nothing like the new B50 ” !!! Your reply only tells me that you didn`t even google “2014-15” KIA Optima :/. If you tell me the grills different then fair enough. Moreover If I were to be doing a but more analysis on its shape, I would say the tail areas been “Inspired” by the 2011-14 Sonata. To say it looks nothing would be true though… cuz both Optima and Sonata have moved on… Sonata more than Optima.
“like I mentioned in my piece Besturn has long been basing cars on Mazdas (that’s because they have a joint venture)”… Well dear you should also know that they don`t have a joint venture with not Just Mazda but with multiple others over the years, including GM, M Benz/Chrysler, Toyota, VW. I think at one time they made Audi cars even before Audi was part of VW group?! They are no newbies as such, its just that they have never really gotten original and it doesn`t seem to have evolved into something better with the B50 here.
I would rather be vocal for an established brand than to get excited by cheap knock offs. We deserve better. I have seen the quality issues with Chinese cars first hand in Gulf. Sorry.
BTW Theres 4th gen OPTIMA on roads from 2016… Geely would have been my pick over FAW… Anyways they aren`t launching anything for now.
FAW ? Is this a company ? Does it exists in Pakistan? I have seen ROMA CHAKKRA …. Is that FAW ? If yes , then it is Failed And Worst (FAW)…… Poor cars from Poor quality Chinh Chong China…. Seen Changan… LOL … China….. They can only make Toys , Toy Toy China,….
just fill the market with CHEAP chinese and european cars and WATCH the prices drop 😀
FAW cars look pretty good and seem of acceptable quality. I cannot comment on actual performance over time as I have never driven one BUT they (V2 and XPV) certainly seem better than their locally manufactured counterparts!
Please research before commenting.. if you dont know about FAW then dont comment..
The company has been launching newer n better cars over the years.. sirius n v2 look like gr8 cars.. only time will tell how durable they are..
Dil k behlanay ko Ghalib ye khayal acha hai
Guys like you deserve toy not a car… stupid mentality comment without any research or experience.
first research then comment ………..bhai faw 1953 mai bani thi cpec mai sab in k trucks used ho rhy hai ….aur is company k partnr volkswagon audi toyota etc hai….hamy asal mai srf cultus mehran etc teen dabo ka pata.
first of all faw isnt part of roma or chakkra those company were individual company
Faw is chines government own company this company is launched is pakistan in 2006
they introduced loder trucks
then in 2012 they introduced faw x-pv and faw carrier which become first most selling product as compare to suzuki. now v2 is also going very good
i dont see kia cars in pakistan ? and hyundai both cars are doing so well in usa