Volkswagen Santana - Santana (China)

Santana (China)

The Santana's biggest success was in China. The Santana (B2) had been built in China on a small scale trial basis by the Shanghai Tractor Automobile Corporation (STAC), predecessor of the SAIC group, since 1982. The first 100 cars were built from CKD kits delivered from Germany. In 1984, Volkswagen signed a contract with STAC, along with the China National Automotive Industry Corporation (CNAIC) and the Bank of China to form the Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive joint venture in October 1984. The first assembly line of the Santana started in October 1985. In September 1986, the 10,000th Santana was built in China. The car and venture laid the ground-works for China's mass motorization. The drive to fully localize production became the impetus for the Chinese auto parts industry: In 1986, the quota of made-in-China parts was below six percent. In 1995, the local content quota stood at 89 percent.

Initially launched with a 1.6-litre petrol engine, the Santana was updated with a 1.8-litre petrol in 1987, first available in the Santana Variant station wagon introduced by Shanghai in 1986. The first Santanas were all originally equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. The 1.6 remained available in the sedan until as late as 2006.

The Santana has had a number of updated features added since the original 1985 model. Some updated features the Santana has been include with are Bosch electronic fuel injection system, a 5-speed manual, a third brake light, improved back seats, hydraulic clutch, MP3 and CD compatible radios, ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution.

In 1991 the Santana 2000 was put into development for China with the aid of Volkswagen do Brasil. It was introduced in 1994 and started mass production in 1995 with a longer wheelbase 2,656 mm (104.6 in) and rear doors than its Brazilian counterpart.

In 2004, the Santana 3000 succeeded the Santana 2000. It was the first design that the Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive joint venture designers had undertaken by themselves. The Santana 3000 was also the first in the Chinese developed Santana series to be available with optional ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution, electronic differential system, a multi function display system, and a sunroof designed by the German Webasto company. The 2.0-litre engine was added to the range in June 2006.

In January 2008, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive released the Santana Vista (Zhijun) and Santana Vista (Changda) (Taxi model), featuring front and rear visual updates and minor chassis modifications. The Vista can be recognized by its mesh grille, chrome accents located low on the bumpers, and redesigned taillights with circular elements.

As of May 2011 the original German designed Santana (both sedan and Variant versions) was still sold in China alongside the updated Santana Vista, and are still popular with taxi and police fleets, as well as with private buyers. A 1.6-litre version of the Santana Vista (1,595 cc, 70 kW/95 PS) has been added to the bottom of the lineup to further boost sales. Nonetheless, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive has decided to discontinue the Santana in 2012. There were 3,213,710 units made since CKD production began in 1983 up until May 2009.