Jiangnan Alto hits the market at 17,800RMB

---

Jiangnan Auto are now owned by Zotye, but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing the production of the mk2 Suzuki Alto in China, as mentioned many times before, old cars do not go out of production in China, instead they linger on and still manage to make sales – not everyone is after the latest design or technology after all.

The Alto was put into production by four different companies in the Chinese market in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, these companies of course being Chang’an Auto, Jiang Nan, Xi’an Tai and Sichuan Auto, these cars were respectively called the Chang’an Alto, Jiangbei Alto, Jiangnan Alto and the Tai Chuan Alto. Jiang Bei Alto went bankrupt due to huge loses, Tai Chuan Alto went onto produce the Flyer which of course later became the first BYD factory, leaving just Chang’an Alto and Jiangnan Alto, later Jiangnan fell under Zotye’s ownership.

Interestingly, the Jiangnan Alto went out production for a few years but now it is back with an uprated engine that meets Chinese5 emission standards, meaning it can be sold in nearly all Chinese cities.

The Alto is priced from 17,8000rmb making it officially the cheapest car in China, but you don’t get much for your money. In fact the Alto is rather bare-bones with it barely classifying as an automobile. Under the hood you can find an 800cc engine which produces just 36bhp according to one source, enough to get you around town, just avoid the hills.