The first motor car developed fully by a Chinese automotive manufacturer marked the debut of the local motor industry.
The Zhonghua marked the beginning of a project for the development of cars fully produced in China by a Chinese industry but designed for international markets.
Italdesign was called in to develop a turnkey project and therefore took care of the styling, body, chassis and finish engineering, structural and safety analysis carried out using CAD, construction of models and prototypes for testing, development of electrical and electronic systems, even providing assistance for the start-up of the production line in the up-to-date new Shenyang plant.
On 16 December 2000 in Shenyang, the China Automotive Company introduced the Zhonghua, top of the saloon range, measuring nearly 5 metres (4880 mm) in length.
